When You Can't Buy It, Sell It: Why I Got into the Stove Knob Cover Business

When our daughter was born about 8 months ago, I began the slow process of baby-proofing the apartment. We recently completed a renovation and I made sure to include as many nerdy “smart” appliances and gadgets as possible. My favorite is our Samsung slide-in gas range. It has all the safety features you’d hope for: oven lock, wifi control (“Did I leave the oven on?”)... except for one really important one.

I soon learned of a major design flaw: the extra large knobs are too easy to turn on, and there were literally NO stove knob covers that fit Samsung’s extra-large knobs. I searched everywhere for child safety stove knob covers that fit Samsung ranges. Nothing. This means an unintentional bump or a curious baby’s hands could turn on the powerful burners or worse, start a gas leak. I’m not alone. In my search, I found many other concerned parents looking for answers, some with devastating results. I even reached out to Samsung, they offered me no options. 

This, to me, was a lost opportunity. Clearly, I can’t be alone - how many ranges must Samsung sell? Why not just offer this simple add-on? Or refer me to a generic option that fits? The closest protective products I could find were either sub-optimal or would just completely block the front of the range. I was shocked that there were no simple stove knob covers that fit. I decided to change that. Thus began my search for a manufacturer. After months of communicating with manufacturers and several useless samples, I found the right partner and manufactured a bunch of these things. 

I love this Samsung gas range, but it wasn't truly safe until now. It's been sort of a long road, but we now have the product listed on Amazon and have them handling the distribution. I am doing a small test to gauge demand. If they sell well, I’ll put in a larger order next time around. Either way, it feels great to take control and protect my family while hopefully offering others the same peace of mind.

For those interested, here's a link to the product on Amazon. Let me know what you think!