Home Safety Checklist For Lansing

Keeping safe in your home should be your number one concern. But are you overlooking one or two useful safety items? Take this home safety checklist for Lansing and discover where your home requires some work.

We give you some whole-home safety items, and then we break it down on a room level. Then, contact (517) 295-3112 or complete the form below to speak to a security professional.

Whole Home Safety Checklist for Lansing

While you will want to take a room-to-room method for home safety, there are a few methods that work for the entire house approach. These items can sync to each other through a touchscreen hub, and oftentimes work off one another. You might also control all your home safety components with a smartphone app, such as ADT Control:

Monitored Home Security System: All your entryways should employ a sensor that warns your family to forced entry. After an alarm trips, your monitoring center picks up the alert and quickly calls the police or fire department.

Smart Bulbs For Every Major Room: Of course, you can set your smart bulbs to become more energy-efficient. But smart lights can also help you stay safe throughout an emergency. Make your downstairs lights flash on when a security alarm goes off to frighten off intruders or illuminate your way to a secure area.

Smart Thermostat: Like your smart lights, a smart thermostat in Lansing can save you between 10%-15% in utility spending. Also, it can start the exhaust fan when your alarms senses a fire.

Monitored Smoke Detectors: It’s code that you need to have a fire detector on each level. You can increase your fire preparedness by installing a monitored fire detector that senses both smoke and heat, and notifies your round-the-clock monitoring agents when it thinks that there’s a fire.

Smart Lock For Every Door: Every entryway that utilizes a keyed lock can be made safer with a smart lock. Now you may preset numbered codes to family and friends and get texts to your phone when the locks are activated. Your smart lock can even automatically turn off, allowing you to quickly get out when you have a fire or other emergency.

Family Room Safety Checklist For Lansing

You’ll hang out most in your family room, so it’s the perfect room to kick off your home safety renovation. Popular items, like a big screen or video game console, probably sit in your family room, making it an alluring area for robbers. Start with installing a motion detector or security camera by the doorway, then take a look at all these ideas:

Motion Detectors: By putting in motion sensors, you’ll get a shrieking siren whenever they sense unexpected motion within your family room. Look for motion detectors that ignore pet movements or you’ll have an alert every time your dog passes through for a bite of food.
Indoor Camera: An indoor security camera offers a visual on your living room. Watch live feeds of the area so you can know what’s happening without leaving your bed. Or speak with family members in the room using the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Cord Maintenance: Make sure you protect expensive electronics and quit overloading your outlets with a surge protector. For extra energy-efficiency, set up a smart plug with a surge protector in the unit.
Entertainment Center Bolted To The Wall: If you have any small children, you’ll need to bolt your entertainment center or other heavy furniture to a wall. This is especially crucial if your living room has carpet that might make furniture extra unstable.
Special Locks For Sliding Glass Doors: If your living room uses a glass door that slides out to a patio, deck, or porch, you already get that the door lock is pretty worthless. Install an enhanced lock, like a metal bar or small locks that secures the door to the bottom and top of the frame.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Lansing

Your kitchen has many items that can provide comfort and safety to your home. Most of these things are also simple to add and should be found in the Target or Walmart:

Fire Extinguisher: A fire can come from from a neglected skillet or a faulty burner. Always store a fire extinguisher in close reach for any kitchen emergencies.
GFCI Box On Every Outlet: A circuit interrupter outlet should be installed anywhere they’re close to running water to lessen the chance of a deadly shock. That means the plug outlets by your sink and kitchen counter. For 30 years, it’s been required to have one GFCI per dedicated circuit. But for simplicity’s sake, try to use a single GFCI per outlet.

Monitored CO Detector: A carbon monoxide detector is needed in the kitchen if you employ gas for the oven and range. If your gas burners malfunction, the carbon monoxide detector will cause a loud, buzzing sound and contact your monitoring expert.
Clorox Wipes Or Spray: The biggest safety issue in the kitchen is the invisible bacteria and protein that comes with blood from meat and other foods. Always have disinfectant wipes or an antibacterial spray to clean your area before and after preparing food.
Refrigerator/Freezer Alarm: The items in the refrigerator have to remain at a cold temperature to be ready to eat. If you accidently leave the fridge or freezer door open too long, then an alarm beep will let you know so you can close the door. Some appliances come with a pre-installed alarm, others don’t, and you’ll have to pick up a fridge alarm from the hardware store.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Lansing

Just because there’s not a lot of space in your bathroom, you will still have safety concerns. From flood detectors to electric safety, here are five safety tips for your bathroom:

Flood Detectors: A leaking toilet or shower can cause extensive water damage. Find out early about water problems with a flood detector and save yourself from reflooring the entire bathroom.
Textured Bathroom Mats: A slip in the bathroom can be a painful occurrence, causing pulled muscles, sore joints, or sprained ankles. Or prevent these issues with a textured bath mat for after your bath or shower.

No-slip Bathtub Stickies: Like a tiled floor, a tub basin can be a slippery area to stand in. Make sure each has some non-slip stickers so your toes have a textured patch to gain traction.

Medicine Door Lock: If you have young children or a family member with memory complications, you have to take additional precautions regarding prescription medicine. Safeguard your pills and syrups by getting a medicine cabinet with a child-proof lock.

Circuit Interrupter Outlet: While installing better outlets in the kitchen, you need to also put in a safer circuit interrupter outlet on each bathroom circuit. This will stop the flow of the current if water splashes on them or they experience a sudden jolt from a curling iron or hair dryer.

Children’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Lansing

Your child’s bedroom should pair safety with simplicity. If their window treatments or other items are safe but difficult to operate, then your kids may get around the device with unsafe methods -- like climb a chest of drawers -- to touch them. Here are some easy, yet safe, ideas:

Cord-Free Window Coverings: Safety professionals have long called cords from shades and blinds a secret hazard for both children and pets. Use motorized blinds or shades that you can easily control with a remote. Or even better, pair your motorized coverings to your security system so they rise automatically when the sun comes up, and lower at night for an easier sleep.

Indoor Security Camera: An indoor security camera sitting on your child’s dresser can behave like an HD baby monitor that you can see with a smartphone. And if they want your help, they can use the intercom talk button included on the camera.

Plug Covers: While each outlet should use outlet safety caps on them when you have little children, this is especially urgent in their bedroom. It’s the one room in your home where your children will most likely be alone without adult supervision.

Window Fire Ladder: If you use bedrooms on above the first story, then you will want to put in a window fire ladder. These can help your children escape in case the stairway or ground floor are on fire. Remember to practice how to use the ladder a few times a year.

Toy Chest Or Low Shelves: It’s weird to think about a toy chest as a safety device, but you’ll see the light if you’ve ever walked on a Lego in your socked feet. A uncluttered floor gives your child a quick way out when there’s a safety or security event.

Master Bedroom Safety Checklist For Lansing

Your main bedroom should be your calm space, so let your safety components give you peace of mind when there's an emergency. After all, being jerked awake by a high-decibel alarm can be disorienting.

Home Security Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your dresser gives you a sense of what’s going on without leaving your bed. You could alternatively use your ADT phone app. However, the touchscreen is often easier to control to use when you’re yawning and finding your bearings.

Personal Charging Station: We depend on our phones for so much now alarms, web browsers, games, 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 charging station or cord is an essential.

Nightlights Or Voice Activated Smart Lights: A small light helps ground you when you’re jolted awake from an alarm or other noises. If you won’t drift off to sleep with a small nightlight, install smart lights in your fixtures. Then you can have light anytime with a mobile device or voice direction.
Fireproof Lockbox: Keep your essential papers like birth certificates, passports, or a spare checkbook in a fireproof safe. Your lockbox can be a bigger one that is located in a corner or a small portable lockbox that you can carry as you escape during an emergency event.

Temperature Sensor: The issue with a master bedroom is that they might be too stuffy or be cold since they sit across the house from the thermostat. A temperature sensor can communicate to your smart thermostat so you should have a comfortable, relaxing sleep at the perfect climate.

Garage/Basement Safety Checklist For Lansing

Most safety problems in the basement or garage are with your pipes or heating system. Discovering problems before they start can stave away larger disasters later on. So, as you take a look around your garage or basement, check over these crucial items:

Water Detector Or Sump Pump Alarm: Putting a flood sensor by your water heater and sump pump can save you from finding a pond when you go into your basement or garage. The last you need is to lose the weekend getting rid of standing water and going through all those storage boxes.

Carbon Monoxide Alarm: It’s smart to hang a carbon monoxide alarm in a place where a gas leak can spring up. If you use gas heating, try to put an alarm in the same area as your HVAC unit.
Wireless Water Shutoff Valve: If your flood alarm detects a hot water leak or a burst pipe, then you will want to shut off the primary water valve at once. With a wireless shutoff valve, you can turn off your water flow from any mobile device. That’s helpful when you’re visiting relatives and get an emergency leak alert on your mobile device.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage door open brings about all types of headaches. You can lose a bunch of HVAC energy through that open door, and rodents or lurkers can just walk in. A sensor will text you about a neglected garage door and lets you close it remotely.
Temperature Sensor: A heat sensor in your basement or garage is essential if you worry about freezing pipes. The temperature in these rooms can be surprisingly different than the main part of the house, so you will want to keep a closer eye on the temperature through your security mobile app.

Outside Perimeter Safety Checklist for Lansing

Your yard, driveway, and front porch are just as important to make safe as the interior of your home. Try the items on this checklist to make your outside safe:

Doorbell Camera: See who’s arrived at the the front step before you open it and chat with visitors. See packages and review video clips if they are taken.

Outdoor Security Camera: You can install outdoor security cameras to guard against late night movement in your yard. These security cameras are nice in places where you might not have a window installed -- like a side yard or by the driveway.

Low Shrubs: Tall bushes can offer some solitude, but they also block your line of sight of the outside. Don’t give potential burglars a place to hide. Plus, high bushes, shrubs or foliage against your structure can jam up gutters and summon bugs.
ADT Yard Signs: One of the biggest discouragements for home intrusion is alerting potential intruders that you use an updated home security system. An ADT yard stick by the main walk and a window sticker will alert ne'er-do-wells that they should move on to an unprotected score.

Motion Controlled Outside Lights: Light is the best deterrent to people who sneak around in the shadows. Motion-activated lights on your deck, porch, or garage can frighten possible intruders away. Flood lights also help you get inside when you come back home late at night.

Call Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help Complete Your Home Safety Checklist for Lansing

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t install non-security devices on your Lansing home safety checklist, we can discuss a customized security system. With alarms, security cameras, and home automation, we can customize the best system for your family’s needs. Just call (517) 295-3112 to get started or complete the form below. Or customize your own ADT system with our Security System Designer.