Home Safety Checklist For Arlington

Being safe in your home should be your number one concern. But are you forgetting some key safety items? Use this home safety checklist for Arlington and see where your house needs some work.

We give you some whole-home safety techniques, and then we break it down room-by-room. Then, you can call (703) 546-7973 or fill out the form below for additional information.

Whole Home Safety Checklist for Arlington

While you will want to employ a room-by-room process for home safety in Arlington, there are some methods that are good for your entire home. These items can talk with one another through a smart hub, and often can respond to other things. You might also manage every one of your home safety devices through a mobile app, such as ADT Control:

Monitored Home Security System: All your windows and doors should use a sensor that warns you and your family to forced entry. When your alarm goes off, your monitoring team answers the call and quickly calls a first responder.

Smart Lighting For Most Rooms: Sure, you can schedule your smart lighting to make your house more energy-efficient. But they can also allow you to stay safe throughout an emergency. Make your lights flip on when a sensor goes off to shoo off burglars or illuminate a path to a outside place.

Smart Thermostat: Likewise, a smart thermostat in Arlington can save you between 10%-15% in energy spending. It also can flip on the exhaust fan during a fire.

Monitored Fire Detectors: It’s code that you have a fire alarm on every level of your house. You can improve your fire preparedness by hanging a monitored fire alarm that looks for excessive heat and smoke, and pings your round-the-clock monitoring team when it detects a fire.

Smart Door Locks: Every entryway that utilizes a deadbolt can be made safer with a smart lock. Now you can program key codes to friends and family and get alerts to your phone when the locks are activated. Your locks can even automatically turn off, letting you quickly get out if you have a fire or other emergency.

Family Room/Living Room Safety Checklist For Arlington

You’ll spend a lot of time in the living room, so it can be the most reasonable place to start making your house more secure. Highly sought after items, like a big screen or video game console, usually sit in your family room, making it a popular space for thieves. Start with hanging a motion sensor or indoor camera in there, then try all these suggestions:

Motion Detectors: By putting in motion detectors, you’ll hear a high-decibel alarm whenever they detect suspicious movement in your family room. The best devices are motion detectors that aren’t set off by pet movements or you’ll see a tripped alarm every time your pet roams by for a bite of food.
Indoor Security Camera: An indoor security camera offers a constant watch on your family room. Get real-time feeds of everything so you can know what’s happening without leaving your bed. Or chat with your family in the room by using the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Outlet Maintenance: Safeguard all your electronics and stop overloading your electric system with a surge protector. For extra energy-efficiency, use a smart plug with anti-surge functionality built-in.
Entertainment Center Secured To The Wall: If you have curious kids, you’ll need to secure your entertainment center or other heavy furniture to a wall. This is extra crucial if your family room has carpet that could make furniture extra wobbly.
Enhanced Locks For Glass Doors: If your family room has a glass door that leads to a patio, deck, or outside porch, you can see that the lock is fairly flimsy. Put in a custom lock, like a bottom bar or locks that bolt to the top and bottom of the door frame.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Arlington

Your kitchen has plenty of items that should bring safety to your home. Some of these items are also a snap to add and should be bought from the a retail store:

Fire Extinguisher: Fire can come from from an unwatched skillet or a faulty burner. Always keep a fire extinguisher at hand for any cooking mishaps.
Circuit Interrupter Box On Each Outlet: A circuit interrupter outlet should be installed anywhere they’re close to running water to prevent a deadly shock. That includes the plug outlets by your sink and kitchen counter. Since the late ‘80s, it’s been standard to have one GFCI per circuit. But each one of your plugs will flip off if any outlet senses a surge, so you’ll want to have a single GFCI per outlet.

Monitored CO Detector: A CO detector is needed in the kitchen if you employ a gas oven and range. If your gas burners malfunction, the carbon monoxide detector will cause a high-decibel sound and ping your monitoring center.
Clorox Wipes Or Spray: The largest safety issue in the kitchen is actually bacteria and cross-contamination that comes with uncooked meat and other foods. Always keep antiviral wipes or spray to sanitize your surfaces after cooking.
Refrigerator Alarm: The food items in the refrigerator should stay at a cold temperature to be ready to eat. If you accidently leave the fridge or freezer door open, then an alarm beep will remind you to check the seal. Some fridges already have this installed, older models do not, and you’ll have to buy a fridge alarm from the hardware store.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Arlington

Just because you may not have a lot of room in your bathroom there’s still safety hazards. From flood detectors to anti-surge outlets, here are some safety ideas for your bathroom:

Flood Detectors: A leaking sink or shower can lead to a whole lot of damage. Get alerted early about pooling water with a flood detector and save hundreds to thousands of dollars from water damage.
No-slip Bath Mats: A slip and fall in the bathroom can be devastating, causing cuts, sore joints, or trips to the hospital. Make sure you prevent these hazards with a no-slip bath mat for while you towel off.

No-slip Bathtub Stickers: Like a tiled floor, a bathtub can be a slick place to move in. Make sure every bathtub has some non-slip stickies so your toes have a rough patch to gain traction.

Medicine Door Lock: If you have young toddlers or someone with memory lapses, you need to take additional care regarding prescribed medicine. Secure your pills and syrups by getting a medicine cabinet with a latch that locks.

GFCI Circuits: While installing better outlets in the kitchen, you need to also install a grounded circuit interrupter outlet on each bathroom circuit. This will stop the flow of the electricity if water enters the outlet or you have a sudden surge from an electric razor or hair dryer.

Kid’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Arlington

Your kid’s bedroom should pair safety with manageability. If their window shades or other things are safe but tricky to manage, then your child may try unsafe activities -- like shimmying up a dresser -- to touch them. Here are some simple, and safe, ideas:

Cord-Free Window Coverings: Safety professionals have long called window treatment cords a hidden problem for both children and pets. Use motorized treatments that your child can easily open and close via remote. Or even better, link your motorized coverings to your ADT security system so they rise on a schedule at dawn, and go down in the evening for extra privacy.

Tableside Security Camera: An indoor security camera placed on your child’s desk can behave as a high tech baby monitor that you can see from your phone. And if they want your help, they can hit the 2-way talk button that comes with the camera.

Outlet Plug Covers: While each outlet should use outlet safety caps on them when you have small children, this is especially urgent in a child’s bedroom. It’s the main place in your house where your children will most likely hang out alone without consistent adult supervision.

Window Escape Ladder: If you use bedrooms on above the first level, then you should have a window fire ladder. These will help a young one escape even if the stairs or ground floor are blocked off with fire. Remember to practice how to use the ladder one or two times a year.

Toy Chest Or Low Shelves: It’s weird to think about a toy box as a safety device, but you’ll see the light if you’ve ever stepped on a building block in your bare feet. A uncluttered floor let your child have a quick way out during a fire or break-in.

Main Bedroom Safety Checklist For Arlington

The main bedroom should be an oasis, so let your safety items give you peace of mind when there's an emergency event. After all, being wrenched awake by a wailing buzzer can be disorienting.

Security System Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your bedside table gives you a sense of what’s going on without jumping out of bed. You could always turn on your ADT phone app but, the touchscreen is often easier to control to use when you’re yawning and disoriented.

Personal Charging Stand: We use our smartphones for so many things now GPS, internet searches, game machines, and --legend has it-- even phones. But, an uncharged device can cut us off from the outside world if something goes wrong. To keep it nice and ready, a an easy-to-use charging station becomes an important part of your nightstand.

Nightlights Or Voice Activated Smart Lights: A plug-in light can calm you when you’re startled awake from a siren or other loud sounds. If you have trouble falling asleep with a small nightlight, put in smart lights in your fixtures. Then you can get light on-demand with a button push or voice direction.
Fireproof Safe: Stash your essential paperwork like insurance cards, medical information, or a bankbook in a fireproof safe. This can be a bigger one that camps out in your closet or a small portable lockbox that you can carry when you leave during a fire or break-in.

Heat Sensor: The problem with bedrooms is that they tend to be too hot or be frigid because they sit far away from the thermostat. A heat sensor will talk to your smart thermostat so you should have a comfortable, restful sleep at just the right temperature.

Basement/Garage Safety Checklist For Arlington

Most safety problems in the garage or basement deal with your pipes or HVAC system. Finding hazards at the source can prevent more devastating emergencies in the future. So, as you take a look around your storage areas, pay attention to these safety items:

Flood Detector Or Sump Pump Alarm: Placing a flood alarm next to your water heater or sump pump drain can save you from finding a pond when you step into your garage or basement. It’s definitely better than sifting through a bunch of soggy storage boxes.

Carbon Monoxide Detector: It’s nice to install a carbon monoxide detector in a place where a CO leak can spring up. If you employ gas heating, try to put an alarm in the same room as your HVAC unit.
Remote Water Shutoff Valve: If your flood alarm senses a plumbing leak or a burst pipe, then you will have to shut off the primary water pipe at once. With a WiFi shutoff valve, you can block water flow from your phone. That’s perfect when you’re visiting relatives and get an emergency leak text on your mobile device.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage door up brings about all types of headaches. You can lose a bunch of heat through that gaping hole, and all sorts of animals or lurkers can just wander in. A sensor will alert you to an open garage door and lets you close it with your phone.
Temperature Sensor: A temperature alarm in your basement or garage is essential if you worry about freezing pipes. The heat in these areas can be surprisingly different than the rest of the home, so you may want to have a constant look on the temperature through your security mobile app.

Outside Safety Checklist for Arlington

Your foliage, drive, and front step are just as important to make safe as the rest of your house. Use this checklist to make your outside safe:

Doorbell Camera: See who’s at the the front step before you answer it and welcome guests. Get a visual on packages and review video clips if they vanish off the step.

Outdoor Security Camera: You can hang outdoor cameras to alert you to unusual activity in your back yard. These cameras are nice in areas where you may not have a window -- like a side yard or by the driveway.

Window Height Shrubs: High foliage can give you some serenity, but they also hinder your view of the yard and curb. Don’t give potential burglars an area to hide. Plus, large shrubs or trees against your house can obstruct gutters and invite pests.
ADT Signs And Decals: One of the largest deterrents for home intrusion is advertising to would-be burglars that you own a state-of-the-art security system. An ADT sign by the front door and a window sticker will tell lurkers that they ought to shove off to an unprotected target.

Motion Controlled Porch Lighting: Light is the largest obstacle to people who sneak around in the unlit places. Motion-activated lights on your deck, patio, or garage can frighten possible intruders away. They also help you work the locks when you get back home on those dark, winter nights.

Contact Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help You Finish Your Home Safety Checklist for Arlington

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t install non-security devices on your Arlington home safety checklist, we can offer a customized security system. With everything from alarms to thermostats, we can personalize the ideal system for your house’s needs. Just contact (703) 546-7973 to get started or send in the form below. Or personalize your own system with our Security System Designer.