Home Safety Checklist For Syracuse

Staying safe in your residence should be your number one responsibility. But are you forgetting some useful safety components? Use this home safety checklist for Syracuse and see where your living space can use some work.

This guide begins with some whole-house safety ideas, and then we delve down to specific room ideas. Then, contact (315) 366-4153 or send in the form below to talk to a security expert.

General Home Safety Checklist for Syracuse

While you will want to employ a room-to-room approach to home safety, there are some things that work for the whole-house approach. These components can sync together through a smart hub, and oftentimes react to other things. You can also manage every one of your home safety equipment through a mobile app, such as ADT Control:

Monitored Security System: All your windows and doors should have a sensor that warns you to a break-in. After the alarm triggers, your monitoring center responds to the call and quickly contacts a first responder.

Smart Bulbs For Every Major Room: Sure, you can program your smart lighting so your house is more efficient. But they can also allow you to stay safe during an emergency. Make your lights come on when an alarm trips to shoo off robbers or illuminate a path to a safe location.

Smart Thermostat: Like your smart lights, a smart thermostat in Syracuse should save you between 10%-15% in utility costs. Also, it can start an exhaust fan if you have a fire.

Monitored Smoke Detectors: At the very least, you should have a smoke detector on each level. You can improve your fire preparedness by installing a monitored fire alarm that detects unusual heat and smoke, and pings your round-the-clock monitoring experts when it thinks that there’s a fire.

Smart Door Locks: Every doorway that utilizes a keyed lock can upgrade to a smart door lock. Now you may assign key codes to friends and family and get notifications to your smartphone when the locks are used. Your locks can even automatically unlock, letting you quickly get out when you have a fire or other emergency.

Family Room/Living Room Safety Checklist For Syracuse

You’ll spend a lot of time in the family room, so it’s the most reasonable area to optimize your home safety. Popular items, like a TV or video game console, typically sit in your family room, making it an alluring room for thieves. Begin with placing a motion detector or indoor camera by the doorway, then take a look at all these suggestions:

Motion Sensors: By hanging motion detectors, you’ll have a high-decibel noise whenever they detect unexpected motion within your family room. Look for motion detectors that ignore pet movements or you’ll see a tripped alarm each time your dog passes through for a bite of food.
Indoor Security Camera: An indoor security camera offers a visual on your family room. Watch constant streams of the area so you can know what’s happening from the mobile app. Or talk with your family in the room using the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Cord Maintenance: Protect those electronics and stop overloading your circuits with a surge protector. For added comfort, install a smart plug with surge protection included.
Entertainment Center Attached To The Wall: If you have curious kids, you’ll need to secure your bookshelves and entertainment center to your wall. This is extra crucial if your family room has carpeting that might make objects extra unstable.
Special Locks For Glass Doors: If your family room has a sliding glass door that opens to a deck, patio, or porch, you know that the lock is fairly thin. Put in a special lock, like a metal bar or small locks that are located on the top and bottom of the opening.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Syracuse

Your kitchen has many items that can bring safety and security to your home. Some of these objects are also simple to add and should be found in the grocery store:

Fire Extinguisher: A fire can happen from an overfilled frying pan or a towel that’s too close to a burner. Always keep a fire extinguisher in close reach for any kitchen mishaps.
Circuit Interrupter Box On Each Outlet: A GFCI outlet should be installed on outlets where they’re by running water to lessen the chance of an electric shock. That includes the outlets around your kitchen counter and sink. Since the late ‘80s, it’s been code to have one GFCI per dedicated circuit. But if you don’t want every outlet to turn off when one outlet surges, try to install a single GFCI per outlet.

Monitored CO Detector: A carbon monoxide detector is needed in the kitchen if you use gas for the stove and oven. If your gas burners spring a leak, the CO detector will emit a loud siren and contact your monitoring expert.
Cleaning Wipes Or Spray: The largest safety issue in the kitchen is the invisible bacteria and protein that comes with uncooked meat and other foods. Always have antiviral wipes or spray to sanitize your area when cooking.
Refrigerator/Freezer Alarm: The food items in the refrigerator need to stay at a constant temperature to be safe to use. If you leave the fridge or freezer door open, then a small beep will remind you to close the door. Some appliances already have a pre-installed alarm, some won’t, and you’ll have to buy an external alarm from online.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Syracuse

Just because you may not have a bunch of square footage in your bathroom doesn’t mean that there aren’t safety concerns. From flood prevention to medicine care, here are a few safety improvements for your bathroom:

Flood Detectors: A leaking sink or bathtub can create an expensive amount of water damage. Deal with water problems early with a flood detector before they generate hundreds of dollars in ruined floors, walls, and fixtures.
Non-slip Shower Mats: A slip and fall in the bathroom can be painful, causing cuts, bruises, or broken bones. You can avoid these problems with a textured bath mat for after your bath or shower.

No-slip Bathtub Strips: Like a tiled floor, a tub can be a slippery surface to stand in. It’s a good idea that every tub has some textured stickies so your toes have a bumpy patch for stability.

Medicine Door Latch: If you have curious children or a family member with memory lapses, you have to take additional care regarding medicine. Hide away your bottles by getting a medicine cabinet with a child-proof lock.

Circuit Interrupter Outlet: Just like the kitchen, you need to also use a safer GFCI outlet on every bathroom outlet. These will cut the current if water enters the outlet or they experience a sudden surge from a curling iron or hair dryer.

Kid’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Syracuse

Your kid’s bedroom should pair safety with simplicity. If their window coverings or other things are safe but difficult to use, then your kids may perform unsafe activities -- like climb a chest of drawers -- to touch them. Here are some simple, yet safe, ideas:

Cord-Free Window Treatments: Safety professionals have identified cords from shades and blinds a hidden hazard for both children and pets. Install motorized treatments that kids can easily manage through a remote control. Or better yet, link your motorized treatments to your security system so they can raise automatically when it’s time to get up, and lower at night for extra privacy.

Tableside Security Camera: An indoor security camera placed on your kid’s desk can double as a baby monitor that you can see from a smartphone. And when they need your help, they can hit the 2-way talk button that comes with the camera.

Outlet Plug Covers: While each outlet should have covers on them to protect your small children, this is especially urgent in their bedroom. It’s the main place in your house where your child will most likely be alone without consistent parental supervision.

Window Escape Ladder: If you have bedrooms on an upper story, then you need to put in a window escape ladder. These can help a child get out of their room even if the stairway or lower levels are engulfed in smoke and fire. Remember to practice how to unfurl the ladder at least twice a year.

Toy Chest Or Low Bookshelves: It’s strange to look at a toy box as a safety device, but you’ll get it if you’ve ever walked on a building block in your stocking feet. A clean floor means a quick retreat during an emergency.

Main Bedroom Safety Checklist For Syracuse

Your bedroom should be an oasis, so let your safety devices give you peace of mind when you experience an emergency. After all, being wrenched awake by a high-decibel buzzer can be quite a shock.

Smart Hub Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your bedside table gives you a sense of what’s happening without leaving your bed. You could alternatively turn on your ADT mobile app. However, the HD touchscreen may be faster to use when you’re coming out of sleep and confused.

Phone Charging Stand: We rely on our cell phones for so much now alarm clocks, news readers, time wasters, and sometimes even phones. But, an uncharged phone can cut us off from the outside world if something goes wrong. So, a charging cord or station becomes an important part of your nightstand.

Nightlight/Smart Lights: A plug-in light can calm you when you’re startled awake from an alarm or unexpected noises. If you won’t drift off to sleep with an outlet light, install smart lights in your fixtures. Then you can control light on-demand with a push of a button or vocal command.
Fireproof Lockbox: Store your vital papers like birth certificates, passports, or a bankbook in a fireproof safe. Your safe can be a bigger one that sits out of the way or a smaller handheld lockbox that you can snatch on your way out during a fire or other emergency.

Temperature Sensor: The issue with most bedrooms is that they tend to feel too hot or be chilly because they are located far from the thermostat. A heat sensor will talk to your smart thermostat so you can have a nice, relaxing sleep at a wonderful climate.

Garage/Basement Safety Checklist For Syracuse

Most safety problems in the basement or garage deal with your pipes or heating system. Seeing problems at the source can stave away larger disasters later on. So, as you walk around your garage or basement, check over these critical items:

Water Detector Or Sump Pump Alarm: Installing a flood sensor next to your water heater and sump pump can save you from finding a pond when you step into your basement or garage. The last you need is to spend the weekend bailing out water and going through all those soggy boxes.

CO Alarm: It’s nice to have a CO detector in an area where a gas leak can happen. If you use gas heat, you’ll want to hang a detector in the same place as your HVAC unit.
WiFi Water Shutoff Valve: If your water sensor senses a plumbing leak or a burst pipe, then you need to cut off the primary water line at once. With a remote shutoff valve, you can turn off your water flow from anywhere in the world. That’s nice when you’re out of town and see an emergency leak text on your mobile device.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage door up causes all types of problems. You can lose a bunch of HVAC energy through that gaping hole, and critters or thieves can just walk in. A remote sensor will alert you to a forgotten garage door and allow you to close it remotely.
Temperature Sensor: A heat alarm in your garage or basement is handy if you wonder about frozen pipes. The heat in these rooms can be drastically different than the main part of the home, so you will want to maintain a constant look on the temperature with your security mobile app.

Outside Safety Checklist for Syracuse

Your yard, drive, and front walk are just as imperative to secure as the rest of your house. Try the items on this checklist to create a safe outside:

Doorbell Camera: See who’s arrived at the door before you answer it and chat with visitors. View deliveries and review video clips if they are taken.

Outdoor Camera: You can hang outdoor security cameras to guard against suspicious movement in your yard. These devices are especially useful in areas where you may not have a view -- like around a cellar or by the garage door.

Window Height Shrubbery: Overgrown foliage can offer some privacy, but they also block your line of sight of the yard. Don’t provide potential burglars a place to hide. Plus, high shrubs or greenery against your structure can clog gutters and invite ants and termites.
ADT Signage: One of the largest deterrents for home intrusion is advertising to aspiring burglars that you use an updated security system. An ADT sign by the front door and a window sticker will tell lurkers that they might want to keep walking to an less prepared target.

Motion Activated Outside Lights: Light is the best deterrent to people who skulk in the dark. Motion-activated lights on your porch, garage, or deck can frighten possible intruders away. Flood lights also help you see the walk when you come home on those dark, winter nights.

Call Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help You Finish Your Home Safety Checklist for Syracuse

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t install each household item on your Syracuse home safety checklist, we can discuss a state-of-the-art home security. With easy-to-use devices and ADT monitoring, we can customize the perfect system for your house’s needs. Just phone (315) 366-4153 and talk to a professional or send in the form below. Or customize your own ADT system with our Security System Designer.