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Home Safety Checklist For Omaha

Keeping safe and secure in your home should be your topmost concern. But are you missing one or two key safety items? Look over this home safety checklist for Omaha and find out where your home requires greater attention.

This guide starts with a few whole-house safety items, and then we delve down to specific room ideas. Then, you can call (402) 277-9885 or send in the form below to get your home set up.

Whole Home Safety Checklist

Basic Home Safety Checklist for Omaha

While you may want to use a room-to-room method for home safety in Omaha, there are some things that are practical for the whole home. These items can sync to each other through a touchscreen hub, and can even work off other things. You might also control every one of your home safety equipment with a smartphone app, such as ADT Control:

  • Monitored Security System: All your doors and windows should employ a sensor that alerts you and your family to intrusion. After the alarm goes off, your monitoring team answers the alert and quickly contacts 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 they can also help you remain safe during an emergency. Have your lights flip on when a sensor trips to shoo off burglars or illuminate your way to a secure area.

  • Smart Thermostat: Like your smart lights, a smart thermostat in Omaha can save you up to 15% in gas and electric costs. But it also can start your exhaust fan during a fire.

  • Monitored Smoke Detectors: It’s code that you should have a smoke detector on each level of your house. You can increase your fire readiness by utilizing a monitored fire detector that looks for unusual smoke and heat, and pings your 24-hour monitoring team when it thinks that there’s a fire.

  • Smart Locks: Every doorway that utilizes a keyed lock can upgrade to a smart lock. Now you can program key codes to each family member and receive texts to your smartphone when they are activated. Your smart lock can even automatically turn off, helping you to quickly get out if you have a fire or dangerous situation.

Family Room Safety Checklist

Living Room/Family Room Safety Checklist For Omaha

You’ll spend most of your time in the family room, so it’s the best place to begin your home safety renovation. Popular items, like a TV or video games, typically sit in your living room, making it a tempting space for burglars. Begin with hanging a motion detector or security camera in your room, then take a look at all these suggestions:

  • Motion Sensors: By putting in motion sensors, you’ll hear a high-decibel noise if they detect suspicious motion within your living room. The best devices are motion detectors that ignore a dog or cat or you’ll have an alert each time your pet comes in for a drink of water.

  • Indoor Camera: An indoor security camera offers a visual on your living room. View constant feeds of everything so you can find out what’s downstairs without leaving your bed. Or talk with your family when they get back from playing using the two-way talk feature.

  • Surge Protector/Cord Maintenance: Make sure you protect those electronics and quit overloading your electric system with a surge protector. For added energy-efficiency, use a smart plug with a surge protector in the unit.

  • Entertainment Center Attached To The Wall: If you have any small children, you’ll need to bolt your entertainment center or other heavy furniture to the wall. This is especially crucial if your living room has carpet that can make furniture extra unbalanced.

  • Enhanced Locks For Sliding Glass Doors: If your family room uses a sliding door that leads to a backyard, deck, or porch, you get that the lock is usually worthless. Put in a custom lock, like a cross bar or small locks that are located on the bottom and top of the opening.

Kitchen Safety Checklist

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Omaha

Your kitchen has many items that can add safety to your home. Some of these items are also a snap to add and can be found in the Target or Walmart:

  • Fire Extinguisher: A fire can come from from an overfilled skillet or a towel that’s too close to a burner. Always have a fire extinguisher in close reach for any kitchen mishaps.

  • GFCI Box On Each Outlet: A GFCI outlet should be used everywhere there’s nearby running water to lessen the chance of electrocution. That includes the outlets by your sink and kitchen counter. Since 1987, it’s been required to have one GFCI per circuit. But if you don’t want every outlet to flip off when one outlet flips, you’ll want to have a single GFCI per outlet.

  • Monitored CO Detector: A CO detector is handy in spaces that employ gas for the oven and range. If your gas lines spring a leak, the CO detector will emit a loud sound and call your monitoring center.

  • Disinfectant Wipes Or Spray: The largest safety problem in the kitchen is actually bacteria and contamination from uncooked meat and other foods. Always have cleaning wipes or spray to scrub off your counters after preparing food.

  • Refrigerator/Freezer Alarm: The milk, meat, and perishables in the fridge need to stay at a cold temperature to stay safe to consume. If you leave the freezer or refrigerator door open too long, then an alarm beep will remind you to close the door. Some refrigerators come with an alarm, some don’t, and you’ll have to buy a fridge alarm from the store.

Bathroom Safety Checklist

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Omaha

Just because you may not have a bunch of space in your bathroom, you will still have safety hazards. From flood detectors to medicine care, here are five safety improvements for your bathroom:

  • Flood Detectors: A leaking toilet or shower can cause an expensive amount of destruction. Deal with a water problem with a flood detector before they cause hundreds to thousands of dollars in damage.

  • No-slip Bathroom Mats: A fall in the bathroom can be painful, causing bumps, bruises, or sprained ankles. You can prevent these issues with a non-slip bath mat for your wet feet.

  • No-slip Bathtub Stickers: Like a tiled floor, a tub can be a slick area to move in. It’s a good idea that each bathtub has some no-slip strips so your feet and toes have a textured patch to gain traction.

  • Medicine Door Latch: If you have young children or anyone with memory difficulties, you need to take extra attention regarding prescription medicine. Hide away your bottles by using a medicine cabinet with a locking latch.

  • Circuit Interrupter Outlet: Just like the kitchen, you need to also install a grounded GFCI outlet on every bathroom circuit. These will stop the flow of the current if water enters the outlet or they experience an unusual surge from an electric razor or hair dryer.

Child's Bedroom Safety Checklist

Child’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Omaha

Your child’s bedroom should balance safety with accessibility. If their window treatments or other things are safe but tricky to use, then your kids may try unsafe activities -- like climb a chest of drawers -- to open them. Here are 5 easy, and safe, ideas:

  • Cordless Window Coverings: Safety experts have long called corded window treatments an unsuspecting problem for kids and pets. Put in motorized treatments that your child can easily control with a remote. Or even better, pair your shades to your ADT security system so they open on a schedule when it’s time to get up, and close in the evening for an easier sleep.

  • Tableside Security Camera: An indoor security camera perched on your child’s desk or dresser can act just like a high tech baby monitor that you can see from a mobile device. And if they need something, they can hit the two-way talk feature included on the camera.

  • Outlet Covers: While each outlet should use covers on them when you have little children, this is doubly needed in a child’s bedroom. It’s the main place in your home where your toddler will most likely play by themselves without consistent additional supervision.

  • Window Escape Ladder: If you have bedrooms on the second floor, then you need to install a window safety ladder. These should help a child get out of their room in case the hallway or lower levels are on fire. Just remember to practice how to employ the ladder at least twice a year.

  • Toy Box Or Low Bookshelves: It’s strange to view a toy chest as a safety item, but you’ll get it if you’ve ever walked on an action figure in your stocking feet. A clutter-free floor gives your child a quick escape if there’s an emergency.

Master Bedroom Safety Checklist

Master Bedroom Safety Checklist For Omaha

Your master bedroom should be your calm space, so let your safety components give you peace of mind if you have an emergency event. After all, being jerked awake by a loud buzzer can be quite a shock.

  • Security System Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your dresser lets you see what’s what that noise was without getting out of bed. You could always use your ADT phone app but, the large touchscreen can be easier to control to use when you’re bleary-eyed and finding your bearings.

  • Phone Charging Stand: We rely on our phones for so much now alarms, news readers, time wasters, and sometimes even phones. But, a depleted phone will cut us off from reaching help if something goes wrong. To make sure your phone always works, a an easy-to-use charging station becomes an essential.

  • Nightlight/Smart Lights: A small light helps ground you when you’re startled awake from an alarm or other sounds. If you can’t fall asleep with an outlet light, put in a smart bulb in your bedroom and hall. Then you can have light anytime with a mobile device or voice direction.

  • Fireproof Safe: Store your important papers like birth certificates, medical information, or banking information in a fireproof lockbox. This can be a bigger one that sits out of the way or a small handheld lockbox that you can carry on your way out during a fire or break-in.

  • Heat Sensor: The drawback with most bedrooms is that they can feel too stuffy or be chilly since they sit far away from the thermostat. A heat sensor will communicate to your smart thermostat so you can have a nice, restful sleep at the perfect climate.

Garage Safety Checklist

Garage/Basement Safety Checklist For Omaha

Most safety problems in the garage or basement have to do with your water heater or heating system. Finding hazards before they start can stop larger disasters in the future. So, as you look around your garage or basement, check over these critical items:

  • Flood Sensor Or Sump Pump Alarm: Putting a flood alarm by your water heater or sump pump can prevent you from wading into a pond when you step into your garage or basement. Do you really want to waste your day drying the floor?

  • CO Detector: It’s beneficial to hang a CO alarm in areas where a CO leak can happen. If you have a gas furnace, you should install an alarm in the same place as your unit.

  • Wireless Water Shutoff Valve: If your flood detector finds a hot water heater leak or a broken pipe, then you will want to cap the primary water pipe immediately. With a wireless shutoff valve, you can turn off your water flow from anywhere in the world. That’s helpful when you’re on vacation and see an emergency leak alert on your phone.

  • Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage up brings about all types of issues. You can lose HVAC energy through that large opening, and rodents or lurkers can just walk in. A remote sensor will alert you to an open garage door and lets you lower it through the app.

  • Temperature Sensor: A heat alarm in your garage or basement is handy if you worry about frozen pipes. The temperature in these areas can be wildly different than your main rooms of the home, so you may need to maintain a close look on the temp by using your mobile app.

Outside perimeter checklist

Outside Safety Checklist for Omaha

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

  • Outdoor Camera: You can install outdoor cameras to guard against suspicious movement in your back yard. These devices are nice in areas where you may not have a window installed -- like a side yard or by the garage door.

  • Low Bushes: High foliage can create some solitude, but they also hinder your view of the yard and curb. Don’t offer potential intruders an area to hide. Plus, high shrubs or trees around your home can clog gutters and invite pests.

  • ADT Signs And Decals: One of the biggest deterrents for home intrusion is telling would-be intruders that you use a state-of-the-art security system. An ADT yard stick by the stoop and a window decal will show lurkers that they ought to keep walking to an easier target.

  • Motion Triggered Outside Lights: Light is the largest enemy to those who lurk in the dark. Motion-triggered lighting on your deck, porch, or garage can shoo possible intruders away. Lights also help you get inside when you arrive home late after work.

Contact Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help You With Your Home Safety Checklist for Omaha

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t install every item on your Omaha home safety checklist, we can discuss a powerful home security. With alarms, security cameras, and home automation, we can install the perfect system for your house’s needs. Simply phone (402) 277-9885 for more information or send in the form below. Or personalize your own ADT system with our Security System Designer.