A bath spout cover is an essential bath time safety item. It helps prevent head bumps and scratches, and can put parents minds’ at ease. Here’s the low down on choosing one that works for your tub.
Bath time with babies is a ton of fun, and can be a great end of day bonding routine. But as your baby grows up into a toddler, bath time becomes more like a full contact adventure sport.
At our house, bath time involves bubbles and pools of water (and dribbled bath paint) on the floor. I have to continuously tell my child to not stand in the bath. And I’m always on the look out for bath time drowning and head bonking hazards.
Relaxing and fun for my toddler? Absolutely (except during hair washing days).
Relaxing and fun for me? Not quite.
Bath Time Safety is Paramount
Toddlers have hurricane-force energy levels, and apply that energy to everything they do. As a parent, it’s my job to encourage their enthusiasm, while also preventing injuries.
Enter, a bath spout cover.
The faucets in most bathtubs are metal and angular. There are sharp edges waiting to bonk heads and leave scars on a kiddo’s noggin. And I have nightmares about a full force head hit to the faucet.
Toddlers Are Not Great at Safety
My toddler (and, I suspect, many toddlers) loves to try to stand up in the bath.
No matter how many times I tell her to sit back down, it’s a constant struggle. And I am hyper aware of how easily she could slip and bash her head on one of the sharp edges.
So Parents Have to Be
A bathtub faucet cover sits overtop of your faucet, like a protective pad for the bath.
If your little one does get to close to the faucet, the spout cover will protect them from the worst of it.
It’s a pretty cheap safety accessory, and the good ones are easy to get on and off.
That makes bath spout covers one of my “must haves” for parents. It’s all part of learning how to safely bathe a baby – or toddler.
What is a Bath Spout Cover?
Kids bath spout covers are playful, soft, shapes that fit over your bath tub’s faucet.
The best ones are firm but flexible, without any sharp edges. That way, if your toddler slips into the faucet, they won’t get cuts or serious bumps on their head.
A bath faucet cover is a bath time safety product, like a thermometer for safe water temperature. It’s part of child proofing.
However, they’re also a way to make bath time fun. They come in fun shapes and designs that look like bath toys – often cute animals – and use bright colors to engage your baby.
In fact, one of my daughter’s first words was “bear.” When she took a bath at her aunt’s house, she noticed the polar bear faucet cover for babies in her tub!
Finding the Right Bath Spout Cover Takes a Bit of Work
Unfortunately, not all bath spout covers work with all bath tubs. Add to that, some are made of materials that aren’t great for human health or the environment.
PVC is full of phthalates and phthalate alternatives. And polyurethane foam can emit harmful VOCs, and may come with a hefty dose of fire retardants.
I don’t want any of those in my child’s bath water, and I’m guessing you don’t either.
Because of this, it takes a bit of research to find a non-toxic bath spout cover that fits your tub. And fits your family’s needs.
What to Look for When Searching for a Bath Spout Cover
Look for a Non-Toxic Bath Spout Cover
There are plenty of baby bath spout covers on the market. However, there are also plenty I don’t recommend, because of what they’re made of.
I suggest buying a bath spout cover that made with non-toxic materials, that’s:
- Phthalate-free
- PVC-free
- BPA-free
Repeated exposure to these chemicals over time could be harmful to your child’s health:
- Phthalates are suspected to damage the liver, kidneys, lungs, and reproductive system[*]
- PVC contains dangerous chemical additives including phthalates, lead, cadmium, and/or organotins. These can be toxic to your child’s health[*] and aren’t great news for workers making them or the environment.
- BPA. The FDA has expressed “some concern” about the potential effects of BPA. These include effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate glands in fetuses, infants, and young children[*].
Go With a Reputable, Big Brand
Since we’re pretty busy as a family, I do a lot of my shopping online.
Which means being on the lookout for cheap knockoffs and counterfeit products.
I’m pretty careful about buying non-toxic products. As such, I also favor the big North American or European brands. If I’m going to use something with my child, I want to know it’s met strict EU and US safety regulations.
And I’m happy to spend a few extra dollars to ensure I it meets those regulations! In many cases, it’s not even a few extra dollars – we’re talking a a few cents extra for the “real” version. Just make sure you pay attention when shopping, because some listings are trickly similar on some marketplaces.
Faucet Fit
This is a big one. While there are plenty of universal faucet covers, some only fit a certain faucet size or style.
To figure out whether it will fit, you might need to:
- Measure your faucet width
- Identify whether your faucet has a shower diverter or not
I considered buying the Nuby Hippo Spout Guard for our faucet, because it’s so darn cute. It has an opening diameter of 2.5 inches, which would work with our faucet.However, upon closer research it only works on faucets without a shower diverter. That’s a deal breaker for our faucet!
Before you commit to a spout cover, do a tiny bit of measuring to make sure it will work for your bathroom.
Durability & Versatility
Choose a cover that will last a long time. It’s better for the planet to invest in one good faucet cover that can last throughmultiple children. Otherwise, you’ll end up going through several covers that end up in the landfill.
Likewise, if you travel a lot and need something for a whole bunch of faucets (i.e. Airbnbs), get one that will work anywhere.
While I love the Skip Hop Moby in our house, the Infantino Cap the Tap would be great in a suitcase for travel.
Cleaning and Mould Prevention
Make sure the cover doesn’t have random nooks and crannies that make it impossible to clean.
We use the Skip Hop Moby Whale, and one of the reasons we chose it is because it’s easy to clean.
We remove it from the faucet between uses and hang it from its tail to air dry.
We use gentle dish soap to wash ours or throw it in when cleaning bath toys, and then let it air dry.
Best Non-Toxic Bath Spout Cover: 3 Your Kids Will Love
With all of the above in mind, here are some bath spout covers I do recommend.
Skip Hop Moby Whale Spout Cover
One of the most popular is the Skip Hop Moby whale bath spout cover.
This is my top choice, and it’s an easy one to make, since we use this in our own home. My personal experience using it has been great, so it’s easy to recommend.
Moby is made from a non-toxic, lightweight rubber that feels like a soft, malleable plastic.
I like that it works well with a shower diverter.
It’s easy to dry, and Moby’s tail doubles as a hook so it can drip-dry on a towel rack.
When it comes time to clean it, it’s dishwasher safe. You could also use a fragrance free dish soap or a bit of gentle kids shampoo, and then let it drip dry.
Underneath Moby’s smile, there’s a way to cinch it up tight to fit the spout. My toddler can’t get it off the spout when it’s cinched.
The largest the whale gets is about 5 inches. So if your faucet is larger than that, it probably won’t fit. To give you a bit of context, our faucet is less than 2″ wide, and 5″ seems unusually large.
A Few Things I Love About the Skip Hop Moby Bath Spout Cover
- Adjustable straps means it will fit most faucets
- BPA-free, PVC-free, Phthalate-free
- Dishwasher safe for easy cleaning (I recommend using a fragrance free detergent)
- I’ve never had a problem with mold or mildew
- Made in Taiwan or China by a big brand with recognized quality control processes
Puj Snug Elephant Spout Cover
Puj was started by Ben and Katie Richardson, a husband and wife team with 4 kids of their own.
After creating a soft foam baby bathtub that can fit in any sink shape, they took the left-over foam and made bath spout covers with the excess. Hooray for waste reduction!
The Puj Snug might just be the cutest elephant bath spout cover on the market. It’s made in the USA from super-soft non-toxic foam that contours to fit almost any faucet shape. It’s also easy to get on and off – good for parents, but perhaps bad for strong toddlers, who can whip it off.
The foam is BPA, PVC, Phthalate, and Lead free. However, it’s also foam, which isn’t quite a “bang” proof as the Moby’s sturdy rubber spout cover.
Boon Flo Water Deflector and Bath Spout Cover
For something a little different, you can use this as a bath spout and create a soft waterfall at the same time.
The Boon Water Deflector also has a bubble bath reservoir, so you can use the faucet to create a sea of bubbles.
The waterfall effect is clever. Kids can sit with their back to the faucet and rinse out their own hair. It’s a great way to help transition them to showers someday. And anything to help with washing and rinsing shampoo and conditioner from toddler hair is a plus in my book. Would love something to help with detangling too, if you know what I mean!
It fits most standard faucets. To install, just squeeze the top front and bottom parts together, like an alligator clip. Then just slip it over your faucet. Curious kiddos might be able to remove it, which is one downside to it.
BPA, PVC, and Phthalate Free, it protects against bumps and kids seem to love the “waterfall” effect it creates. That said, the bubble bath dispenser function gets mixed reviews, and you’ll have to pull it off to use your shower pull.
Bath Spout Covers We Can’t Get Behind
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of bathtub spout covers on the market that meet our criteria for being free from PVC, BPA, and Phthalates at minimum.
In researching this article about bath spout covers (and in choosing a spout cover for my own home), I considered quite a few other covers. However, in my opinion, the best bath spout cover is one that comes with transparent manufacturing and materials, and fits most faucets. A few bath spout covers that I considered, but didn’t include among my top choices includes:
- One Step Ahead Turtle Bathtub Faucet Cover: This spout cover is made from PVC, which is an instant deal breaker for me.
- Munchkin Bubble Beak Bath Spout Cover: It might be a well-known brand, but I don’t love that it contains ABS.
- Nubby Hippo Water Spout Guard: Even though it’s cute, we couldn’t figure out what the Nubby Hippo Water Spout Guard is made of, and it’s not a universal fit.
- Mommy’s Helper Froggy: It’s not clear what it’s made of, and it seems tough to fit.
Final Thoughts
Bath spout covers aren’t a big ticket item.
For the price of two fancy coffees, you get peace of mind knowing your child is less likely to injure themselves if they fall into the faucet.
And if you choose a non-toxic one, you won’t have to worry about which nasty chemicals are joining your baby during bath time!
