Home Safety Checklist For Oceanside
Keeping safe and secure in your residence should be your number one responsibility. But are you forgetting a few key safety items? Take this home safety checklist for Oceanside and discover where your home needs greater attention.
We give you five whole-house safety ideas, and then we delve down to specific room ideas. Then, contact (760) 230-3571 or complete the form below to talk to a security expert.
Whole Home Safety Checklist for Oceanside
While you will want to take a room-to-room process for home safety, there are some items that work for all of your rooms. These items can link to each other through a wireless hub, and oftentimes respond to other things. You can also manage all your home safety components with a mobile security app, such as ADT Control:
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Monitored Home Security System: All your entryways should have a sensor that notifies you to intrusion. After your alarm triggers, your monitoring center picks up the call and immediately sends a first responder.
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Smart Lighting For Every Major Room: Sure, you can program your smart bulbs so your house is more efficient. But they can also help you remain safe throughout an emergency. Have your lights come on when a security alarm triggers to frighten off intruders or illuminate your way to a outside location.
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Smart Thermostat: Likewise, a smart thermostat in Oceanside should save you 10%-15% in energy costs. Also, it can start your exhaust fan if you have a fire.
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Monitored Fire Detectors: At the very least, you should have a fire alarm on every level. You can increase your fire readiness by installing a monitored fire detector that detects both heat and smoke, and pings your 24-hour monitoring experts when it thinks that there’s a fire.
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Smart Door Locks: Every door that needs a keyed lock can be made safer with a smart door lock. Now you may assign numbered codes to friends and family and get texts to your phone when they are activated. Your locks can even automatically unlock, allowing you to quickly leave if you have a fire or dangerous situation.
Family Room/Living Room Safety Checklist For Oceanside
You’ll hang out most in the family room, so it may be the most reasonable room to improve your home safety. Popular items, like your TV or video game console, usually sit in your family room, making it a tempting space for robbers. Begin with installing a motion sensor or indoor security camera by the doorway, then try some of these safety protocols:
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Motion Detectors: By installing motion detectors, you’ll get a high-decibel noise if they sense unexpected movement within your family room. Look for motion detectors that filter out a dog or cat or you’ll get an alert each time your cat passes through for a drink of water.
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Security Camera: An indoor security camera gives you a constant watch on your living room. Watch live streams of the area so you can see what’s downstairs through the mobile app. Or chat with your kids in the living room using the two-way talk feature.
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Surge Protector/Outlet Maintenance: Make sure you protect all your electronics and stop overtaxing your outlets with a surge protector. For additional comfort, use a smart plug with anti-surge functionality in the unit.
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Entertainment Center Bolted To The Wall: If you have curious kids, you’ll need to bolt your entertainment center or other heavy furniture to your wall. This is especially important if your family room has carpet that could make heavy objects extra unbalanced.
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Special Locks For Sliding Glass Doors: If your living room uses a sliding door that slides out to a patio, deck, or porch, you probably get that the lock is pretty flimsy. Install a custom lock, like a bottom bar or small locks that secures the door to the top and bottom of the door frame.
Kitchen Safety Checklist For Oceanside
The kitchen has room for items that should add safety to your home. Some of these objects are also a snap to add and can be found in the Target or Walmart:
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Fire Extinguisher: Fire can happen from an unwatched pot or a faulty burner. Always have a fire extinguisher at the ready for any cooking emergencies.
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Circuit Interrupter Box On Every Outlet: A circuit interrupter outlet should be installed anywhere they’re close to water to prevent an electric shock. That means the plug outlets close to your sink and kitchen counter. Since 1987, it’s been code to have one GFCI per circuit. But each one of your plugs will go if one outlet detects a surge, so you’ll want to install a separate GFCI for every outlet.
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Monitored Carbon Monoxide Detector: A carbon monoxide detector is recommended for the kitchen if you employ a gas oven and stove. If your gas appliances malfunction, the CO detector will cause a loud, buzzing sound and contact your monitoring center.
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Clorox Wipes Or Spray: The most overlooked safety hazard in the kitchen is the viruses, bacteria, and protein from blood from meat and other foods. Always have antiviral wipes or spray to sanitize your surfaces when cooking.
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Freezer and Refrigerator Alarm: The items in the fridge need to remain at a chilly temperature to be healthy to use. If you accidently leave the refrigerator door open, then a small beep will tell you to close the door. Some refrigerators come with an alarm, others don’t, and you’ll have to get a refrigerator alarm from the hardware store.
Bathroom Safety Checklist For Oceanside
Just because you don’t a lot of room in your bathroom, you will still have safety concerns. From flood detectors to medicine care, here are a few safety improvements for your bathroom:
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Flood Detectors: A leaking sink or tub can lead to a whole lot of destruction. Deal with a water problem with a flood detector and save hundreds to thousands of dollars from water damage.
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No-slip Bathroom Mats: A slip in the bathroom can be devastating, causing bumps, sore joints, or sprained ankles. You can steer clear from these hazards with a textured bath mat for while you towel off.
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Non-slip Bathtub Stickies: Another water hazard, a bathtub can be a slick area to be on. Make sure every has some non-slip stickers so your toes have a bumpy patch for stability.
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Medicine Door Lock: If you have little children or someone with memory complications, you have to take extra care regarding prescribed medicine. Safeguard your pills and syrups by installing a medicine cabinet with a latch that locks.
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GFCI Circuits: Similarly to the kitchen, you will have to also use a safer circuit interrupter outlet on each bathroom receptacle. These will shut off the current if they ever get wet or they experience a sudden surge from a curling iron or hair dryer.
Children’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Oceanside
Your child’s bedroom should balance safety with simplicity. If their window shades or other things are safe but difficult to manage, then your children may try risky activities -- like climb a chest of drawers -- to touch them. Try these straightforward, yet safe, ideas:
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No Cord Window Coverings: Safety experts have identified cords from shades and blinds a secret problem for children and animals. Use motorized shades that kids can easily open and close via remote. Or even better, pair your shades to your security system so they rise automatically when it’s time to get up, and close at bedtime for an easier sleep.
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Tableside Security Camera: An indoor security camera sitting on your child’s desk can act just like a high tech baby monitor that you can watch from a mobile device. And when they need you, they can push the 2-way talk button included on the camera.
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Outlet Covers: While each outlet should have covers on them to protect your small children, this is doubly important in their bedroom. It’s the one place in your house where your children will most likely be alone without adult supervision.
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Window Safety Ladder: If you use bedrooms on above the first level, then you need to put in a window safety ladder. These should help your children leave the house in case the stairway or ground floor are on fire. Make sure to practice how to unfurl the ladder at least twice a year.
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Toy Box Or Low Shelves: It’s strange to think about a toy box as a safety device, but you’ll understand if you’ve ever walked on a building block in your socked feet. A uncluttered floor let your child have a quick way out if there’s a fire or break-in.
Main Bedroom Safety Checklist For Oceanside
Your master bedroom should be your calm space, so let your safety items make you more responsive when you have an emergency event. After all, being wrenched awake by a loud siren can be quite a shock.
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Security System Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your nightstand gives you a sense of what’s what that noise was without getting out of bed. You could also turn on your ADT phone app. However, the touchscreen can be easier to use to use when you’re yawning and disoriented.
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Phone Charging Stand: We rely on our smartphones for so much now alarms, news readers, social media, and sometimes even phones. However, a depleted cell will cut us off from the outside world if during an emergency. To keep it nice and ready, a charging cord or station is should be used nightly.
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Nightlights Or Voice Activated Smart Lights: A tiny light can calm you when you’re bolted awake from an alarm or other noises. If you can’t fall asleep with an outlet light, put in a smart bulb in your fixtures. Then you can get light anytime with a button push or voice command.
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Fireproof Safe: Store your important paperwork like birth certificates, stock certificates, or a spare checkbook in a fireproof safe. Your lockbox can be a large one that camps out in your closet or a small handheld safe that you can grab as you escape during a fire or break-in.
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Heat Sensor: The issue with most bedrooms is that they might run too stuffy or be chilly because they sit far from the thermostat. A heat sensor will talk to your smart thermostat so you should have a comfortable, peaceful sleep at just the right temperature.
Basement/Garage Safety Checklist For Oceanside
Most safety needs in the garage or basement have to do with your pipes or heating system. Discovering hazards before they start can stop bigger emergencies later on. So, as you look around your basement or garage, check over these crucial items:
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Water Detector Or Sump Pump Alarm: Putting a flood sensor next to your water heater and sump pump can stop you from finding a pond when you go into your garage or basement. Do you really want to lose your weekend bailing out water?
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CO Alarm: It’s beneficial to install a CO detector in areas where a CO leak can happen. If you employ gas heating, try to install a detector in the same room as your inbound pipes.
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Wireless Water Shutoff Valve: If your water sensor finds a hot water heater leak or a burst pipe, then you will have to cap the main water pipe immediately. With a wireless shutoff valve, you can block water flow from anywhere in the world. That’s nice when you’re out of town and get a water leak notification on your smartphone.
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Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage door up brings about all sorts of issues. You can waste heat or air through that gaping hole, and all sorts of animals or thieves can just saunder in. A sensor will alert you to an open garage door and lets you lower it remotely.
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Heat Sensor: A heat alarm in your basement or garage is handy if you worry about freezing pipes. The heat in these areas can be wildly different than the main part of the house, so you will want to maintain a close look on the temperature by using your mobile app.
Outside Safety Checklist for Oceanside
Your foliage, drive, and front walk are just as important to defend as the interior of your home. Try the items on this checklist to defend your perimeter:
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Doorbell Camera: See who’s at the door before you answer it and chat with guests. See deliveries and look at video clips if they are stolen.
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Outdoor Security Camera: You can hang outdoor security cameras to alert you to unusual activity in your yard. These cameras are nice in areas where you might not have a window -- like a side yard or by the garage.
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Window Height Shrubbery: High bushes can offer some serenity, but they also hinder your line of sight of the yard and curb. Don’t offer potential intruders a place to hide. Plus, high bushes or trees around your structure can clog gutters and summon bugs.
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ADT Signs And Decals: One of the biggest disincentives for a thief is telling aspiring burglars that you have a monitored ADT security system. An ADT sign by the front door and a window cling will alert people that they might want to move on to an unprotected target.
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Motion Triggered Porch Light Fixtures: Light is the largest obstacle to those who skulk in the unlit places. Motion-activated lighting on your deck, patio, or garage can shoo lurkers away. Flood lights also help you see the walk when you arrive home late after work.
Use Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help You With Your Home Safety Checklist for Oceanside
While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t deliver non-security devices on your Oceanside home safety checklist, we can offer a customized security system. With easy-to-use devices and ADT monitoring, we can install the best system for your house’s needs. Simply contact (760) 230-3571 for more information or complete the form below. Or customize your own system with our Security System Designer.