Home Safety Checklist For Port St. Lucie
Keeping safe in your residence should be your number one responsibility. But are you overlooking a few key safety components? Look over this home safety checklist for Port St. Lucie and find out where your living space can use some work.
This guide starts with a few whole-house safety ideas, and then we break it down room-by-room. Then, phone (772) 237-3604 or complete the form below to get your home set up.
General Home Safety Checklist for Port St. Lucie
While you should take a individual room approach to home safety in Port St. Lucie, there are a few items that work for multiple rooms. These devices can sync together through a touchscreen hub, and oftentimes respond to other components. You might also control all your home safety devices with a mobile security app, such as ADT Control:
-
Monitored Security System: Each one of your windows and doors should use a sensor that notifies your family to a break-in. As an alarm trips, your monitoring expert picks up the call and immediately calls a first responder.
-
Smart Bulbs For Most Rooms: Of course, you can set your smart bulbs so your house is more energy-efficient. But they can also allow you to stay safe in an emergency. Have your smart bulbs flash on when a security alarm goes off to frighten off burglars or light a path to a secure place.
-
Smart Thermostat: Like your smart lights, a smart thermostat in Port St. Lucie can save you 10%-15% in gas and electric costs. Also, it can flip on an exhaust fan during a fire.
-
Monitored Fire Alarms: At the very least, you need to have a fire alarm on each level of your house. You can improve your fire readiness by hanging a monitored fire alarm that senses unusual smoke and heat, and pings your round-the-clock monitoring experts when it thinks that there’s a fire.
-
Smart Locks: Every doorway that needs a keyed lock can upgrade to a smart door lock. Now you can assign key codes to each family member and receive notifications to your mobile device when the locks are activated. Your smart lock can even automatically open, letting you quickly leave during an emergency.
Family Room Safety Checklist For Port St. Lucie
You’ll spend a lot of time in your family room, so it can be the best area to improve your home safety. Highly sought after items, like a TV or video games, typically reside in your living room, making it a tempting room for robbers. Start with hanging a motion detector or indoor security camera in your room, then continue on with all these ideas:
-
Motion Sensors: By hanging motion detectors, you’ll get a loud siren if they detect unexpected motion in your family room. You’ll want motion sensors that ignore pets or you’ll have your sirens go off every time your pet roams by for a bite of food.
-
Indoor Camera: An indoor security camera puts a constant watch on your family room. Get real-time feeds of your room so you can know what’s going on through the mobile app. Or talk with your family in the room using the two-way talk feature.
-
Surge Protector/Cord Maintenance: Make sure you protect expensive electronics and stop overtaxing your circuits with a surge protector. For added convenience, install a smart plug with anti-surge functionality in the unit.
-
Entertainment Center Secured To The Wall: If you have curious kids, you’ll need to secure your bookshelves and entertainment center to a wall. This is extra important if your living room has carpeting that could make heavy objects extra wobbly.
-
Enhanced Locks For Sliding Doors: If your family room uses a sliding glass door that opens to a backyard, deck, or porch, you can see that the door lock is usually worthless. Use an enhanced lock, like a cross bar or locks that are located on the top and bottom of the door frame.
Kitchen Safety Checklist For Port St. Lucie
Your kitchen has many items that should provide comfort and safety to your home. Some of these items are also simple to add and can be found in the a retail store:
-
Fire Extinguisher: A fire can spring up from a neglected pot or a towel that’s too close to a burner. Always keep a fire extinguisher in close reach for any stove or oven mishaps.
-
Circuit Interrupter Box On Each Outlet: A GFCI outlet should be used on outlets where they’re by running water to lessen the chance of a deadly shock. That means the plug outlets by your kitchen counter and sink. For 30 years, it’s been standard to have one GFCI per dedicated circuit. But each one of your plugs will go if one outlet detects a surge, so you’ll want to install a single GFCI per outlet.
-
Monitored Carbon Monoxide Detector: A carbon monoxide detector is recommended for kitchens that have natural gas for the oven and range. If your gas appliances leak, the CO detector will cause a loud, buzzing sound and contact your monitoring expert.
-
Disinfectant Wipes Or Spray: The largest safety problem in the kitchen is the viruses, bacteria, and protein from raw meat and other foods. Always keep cleaning wipes or spray to sanitize your surfaces after cooking.
-
Refrigerator Alarm: The items in the refrigerator need to remain at a constant temperature to be ready to use. If you accidently leave the freezer or refrigerator door ajar, then a constant beep will tell you to close the door. Some refrigerators come with this installed, some do not, and you’ll have to buy an external alarm from online.
Bathroom Safety Checklist For Port St. Lucie
Just because there’s not a lot of room in your bathroom doesn’t mean that there aren’t safety issues. From flood prevention to electric safety, here are five safety ideas for your bathroom:
-
Flood Sensors: A leaking sink or tub can lead to a whole lot of damage. Deal with a leaking pipe with a flood detector and save the time and money from damage.
-
Non-slip Shower Mats: A fall in the bathroom can be a painful occurrence, causing pulled muscles, bruises, or broken bones. You can prevent these hazards with a no-slip bath mat for your wet feet.
-
Textured Bathtub Stickers: Like a tiled floor, a tub basin can be a slick surface to be on. It’s a good idea that each bathtub has some non-slip stickies so your feet have a bumpy patch for stability.
-
Medicine Door Latch: If you have young children or a family member with memory lapses, you have to take extra care regarding medicine. Hide away your pills and syrups by installing a medicine cabinet with a child-proof lock.
-
GFCI Circuits: Just like the kitchen, you should also put in a surge protecting GFCI outlet on every bathroom circuit. This will cut the current if water splashes on them or you have an unusual spike from an electric razor or hair dryer.
Children’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Port St. Lucie
Your kid’s bedroom should counterbalance safety with simplicity. If their window coverings or other items are safe but difficult to use, then your child may perform unsafe methods -- like climb a bookshelf -- to open them. Here are some easy, yet safe, ideas:
-
No Cord Window Treatments: Safety experts have identified cords from shades and blinds an unsuspecting problem for children and animals. Install motorized treatments that kids can easily manage with a remote control. Or better yet, connect your motorized treatments to your security system so they rise without anyone’s help when the sun comes up, and go down in the evening for an easier sleep.
-
Indoor Security Camera: An indoor security camera sitting on your child’s dresser can double as an HD baby monitor that you can see with a smartphone. And if they need something, they can push the intercom talk feature included on the camera.
-
Outlet Plug Covers: While each outlet should have protective covers on them to protect your small children, this is doubly important in their bedroom. It’s the main place in your home where your children will most likely be alone without adult supervision.
-
Window Fire Ladder: If you have bedrooms on above the first floor, then you will want to put in a window fire ladder. These can let a young one leave the house even if the stairway or downstairs are blocked off with fire. Make sure to go over how to unfurl the ladder one or two times a year.
-
Toy Box Or Low Bookshelves: It’s interesting to look at a toy box as a safety component, but you’ll understand if you’ve ever stepped on an action figure in your socked feet. A uncluttered floor means a quick escape when there’s an emergency.
Master Bedroom Safety Checklist For Port St. Lucie
The master bedroom should be a refuge, so let your safety items make you more responsive if there's an emergency event. After all, being startled awake by a high-decibel alarm can be confusing.
-
Smart Hub Touchscreen: Having a smart hub on your nightstand helps you know what’s what that noise was without leaving your bed. You could alternatively turn on your ADT smartphone app but, the HD touchscreen can be easier to control to use when you’re coming out of sleep and disoriented.
-
Phone Charging Area: We use our phones for so many things now alarms, news readers, game machines, and maybe even phones. The only problem is that an uncharged phone will cut us off from communications if there’s a problem. To make sure your phone always works, a charging station or cord is an essential.
-
Smart Lights Or Nightlights: A small light helps ground you when you’re startled awake from a siren or unexpected sounds. If you won’t drift off to sleep with a small nightlight, install smart lights in your bedroom and hall. Then you can control light anytime with a button push or voice command.
-
Fireproof Safe: Stash your important paperwork like birth certificates, medical information, or banking information in a fireproof safe. This can be a large one that is located out of the way or a small portable safe that you can grab when you leave during a fire or break-in.
-
Temperature Sensor: The drawback with a master bedroom is that they tend to be too stuffy or be frigid since they sit far away from the thermostat. A heat sensor will communicate to your smart thermostat so you should have a pleasant, restful sleep at just the right climate.
Garage/Basement Safety Checklist For Port St. Lucie
Most safety issues in the basement or garage deal with your water or heating system. Finding hazards at the source can stave away larger disasters later on. So, as you take a look around your garage or basement, take note of these crucial items:
-
Flood Sensor Or Sump Pump Alarm: Placing a flood sensor by your water heater or sump pump can stop you from discovering a lake when you walk into your basement or garage. It’s much better than sifting through a heap of soiled storage boxes.
-
Carbon Monoxide Alarm: It’s beneficial to install a CO detector in a place where a natural gas leak can occur. If you use gas heating, you should put a detector in the same area as your HVAC unit.
-
WiFi Water Shutoff Valve: If your water detector senses a hot water heater leak or a burst pipe, then you will want to cap the main water pipe immediately. With a wireless shutoff valve, you can turn off your water flow from your phone. That’s perfect when you’re out of town and get an emergency leak text on your phone.
-
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage door open brings about all sorts of headaches. You can waste heat or air through that open door, and critters or lurkers can just saunder in. A sensor will text you about a forgotten garage door and allow you to close it remotely.
-
Heat Sensor: A heat alarm in your basement or garage is a definite if you fret about your pipes freezing. The heat in these rooms can be surprisingly different than your main rooms of the home, so you will want to maintain a closer eye on them through your security mobile app.
Outside Safety Checklist for Port St. Lucie
Your foliage, drive, and front walk are just as crucial to make safe as the inside of your home. Try this checklist to defend your perimeter:
-
Doorbell Security Camera: See who’s at the door before you open it and talk to visitors. See packages and look at video clips if they vanish off the step.
-
Outdoor Security Camera: You can install outdoor cameras to alert you to late night activity in your yard. These devices are nice in places where you might not have a window -- like a side yard or by the driveway.
-
Low Shrubs: High bushes can give you some serenity, but they also block your line of sight of the yard. Don’t offer potential burglars a dark shadow to hide. Plus, tall shrubs or greenery around your structure can clog gutters and summon pests.
-
ADT Signage: One of the most popular deterrents for a break-in is advertising to aspiring intruders that you use a monitored home security system. An ADT yard stick by the stoop and a window sticker will show lurkers that they might want to keep walking to an less prepared target.
-
Motion Controlled Outside Lights: Light is the best deterrent to those who skulk in the unlit places. Motion-triggered lights on your deck, porch, or garage can help scare possible intruders away. They also help you get inside when you get back home late after work.
Contact Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help You With Your Home Safety Checklist for Port St. Lucie
While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t install each household item on your Port St. Lucie home safety checklist, we can discuss a customized home security. With everything from alarms to thermostats, we can customize the best system for your house’s needs. Just phone (772) 237-3604 to get started or send in the form below. Or customize your own system with our Security System Designer.