Home Inspection, CA

[BrooklynM]

I hope you have a really nice analyst like mine! He is super nice and I have emailed him with questions and he always gets back to me. I stressed out so much about my initial inspection I stayed up the entire night, literally, making everything was beyond perfect. I couldn't sleep anyway because I was so nervous. The day of the inspection my analyst ended up being like 3 hours late, it was so much easier than I thought and he was sooooo nice. He let me know suggestions that were outside of regulations because I asked. I let him know that I wanted to make sure that it was as safe as possible, and he had 20 plus years of experience so I know he has seen everything so if this was his daycare or he were to send his own children here, what would he change? It was only a couple of things and I did them right away and sent him pictures even though it wasn't required. My theory is to always get them on your side right away!

I don't use my fireplace at all, so I actually ended up putting a board in front of it, painting it, and I have toy bins in front of it. It has been a challenge with my 15 year old making sure when she leaves for school in the morning she doesn't leave things out! I'm always nervous she will leave for school and at the same time licensing will walk up and it happens to be a day she left something out even though there isn't a child in her room at that time. I just check her room and my sons room after they leave for school. I wish I had a better method sometimes. I don't want my kids to be put out because I run my business here, but at the same time, I used to work outside the home and was gone a lot and now they are able to walk home from school, I'm home, and I'm off on weekends so there are a lot of advantages for all of us.

I put my knives in an upper cabinet, but it's a pain sometimes!

[Jenniferdawn]

Yes, California's very inconsistent. I have to keep my knives up high, not on the counter. My fireplace was fine with just the glass doors, no child lock needed. Backyard as long as it's safe, should be fine just being dirt. My bathroom medicine cabinet doesn't even need to be locked. It just has toothpaste and toothbrushing supplies in it. I remember being so stressed out about having the check but try not to stress. It's pretty normal for them to find something they want you to fix. They did with me and when they came back, I got my license just fine. Good luck!

[TwinKristi]

The knives are a tricky one! I had my pre-inspection with R&R and she wanted me to put them on top of my fridge but a provider friend said her first initial inspector told her to put them on the fridge but someone else who came back for an unannounced visit told her no way, very unsafe and keep them at the furtherst point on your counter. I have mine in the back corner of the counter and a couple with sheaths in a finger-locked drawer which is hard to reach for kids. They'd have to move a chair all the way across the room and then climb up there. They could fall off he fridge in an earthquake or if someone bumped it hard enough. Plus I'm not tall enough to really reach up there to the highest point and would have to use a stool which is just as dangerous. I can also keep my soap along the backsplash behind the sink/faucet but some people have been cited for that. My child is the only potty trained one who uses the bathroom so there is toothpaste in the cabinet, but that's up 4.5-5' off the ground. Everything else is 6' or higher or locked in a 2-part lock.

I know a provider who I FOR SURE thought would be cited for a few things I saw (meds and vitamins in the eye level cabinets unlocked, online CPR - not the approved class) and she wasn't. It was just clerical stuff she had to fix. It gives me hope! LOL I'm so nervous about mine but I doubt I will have one between now and Nov. and then I start over again with my move.

[MarinaVanessa]

I can also keep my soap along the backsplash behind the sink/faucet but some people have been cited for that.

Oh yeah, soap is another tricky one. I have a motion sensor soap pump in my bathroom right on the counter and a built in soap pump in the sink of my kitchen and I've never been told anything about it but another provider with a different analyst was told NO SOAP on the counters. How the heck are you supposed to wash your hands and the hands of all of the kids if you can't keep soap on the counter or in the medicine cabinet?

[Jenniferdawn]

Ha! My inspector said it was no problem to have soap on the counter.

[TwinKristi]

Oh yeah, soap is another tricky one. I have a motion sensor soap pump in my bathroom right on the counter and a built in soap pump in the sink of my kitchen and I've never been told anything about it but another provider with a different analyst was told NO SOAP on the counters. How the heck are you supposed to wash your hands and the hands of all of the kids if you can't keep soap on the counter or in the medicine cabinet?

:confused: Exactly!! I even made sure to buy Method soap which is non-toxic and doesn't even have a warning to keep out of reach of children like most soaps do! So even if they fight me it's not a lockable item! BUT again, my analyst said the backsplash was okay and I've been told of others being cited. You just never know!

[bzzzybee]

I have my knives in a block on the counter, as far away from children's reach as possible. My analyst didn't say anything about it.

But everyone is correct in saying that regulations are so unclear. I previously worked at a center and whenever state would come in we would get in trouble for doing something a certain way and the next analyst would tell us we couldn't do it the new way! The rules are so gray.

I called my analyst for a couple months to make an appointment for my inspection. I would call like once a week and leave a voicemail stating that I was wondering when the inspection would occur. That was spring 2013.

Before my inspection I just made sure I triple checked the checklist they sent. I passed the first time, the only thing my analyst made me do was tape pictures on my sliding glass door so kids wouldn't run into it. That rule was never in anything I got so I had no clue I was supposed to do that. But otherwise, it wasn't too bad. Some of the stuff I went crazy over making sure it would pass (like the garage) she just poked her head in and looked around for five seconds and closed the door. You have no idea what they'll be picky about!