Home Safety Checklist For Gulfport

Staying safe and secure in your house should be your number one priority. But are you forgetting a few useful safety components? Take this home safety checklist for Gulfport and find out where your living space can use an update.

This guide begins with five whole-house safety items, and then we delve down room-by-room. Then, you can call (228) 220-2891 or complete the form below for additional information.

Essential Home Safety Checklist for Gulfport

While you should employ a room-by-room approach to home safety, there are some items that are useful for each part of your house. These components can link to each other through a wireless hub, and oftentimes work off one another. You might also manage all your home safety equipment through a mobile app, like ADT Control:

Monitored Security System: Each one of your windows and doors should have a sensor that warns you and your family to intrusion. When an alarm goes off, your monitoring team picks up the call and quickly contacts emergency personnel.

Smart Lights For Most Rooms: Of course, you can set your smart lights to become more efficient. But smart lights can also help you keep safe in an emergency. Have your downstairs lights flip on when an alarm triggers to scare off robbers or brighten your way to a secure area.

Smart Thermostat: Like your smart lights, a smart thermostat in Gulfport can save you up to 15% in gas and electric spending. Also, it can flip on your exhaust fan when your alarms senses a fire.

Monitored Fire Alarms: At the very least, you have a fire alarm on each level of your house. You can improve your fire game by hanging a monitored fire detector that senses both smoke and heat, and notifies your 24/7 monitoring agents when it detects a fire.

Smart Door Locks: Every entryway that utilizes a keyed lock can be made safer with a smart door lock. Now you can program codes to friends and family and receive texts to your phone when they are unlocked. Your smart lock can even automatically turn off, helping you to quickly leave if you have a fire or other emergency.

Living Room/Family Room Safety Checklist For Gulfport

You’ll hang out most in the living room, so it can be the best room to optimize your home safety. Highly sought after items, like a big screen or stereo system, typically are located in your family room, making it a tempting space for robbers. Begin with hanging a motion detector or indoor camera by the doorway, then take a look at some of these safety protocols:

Motion Detectors: By installing motion detectors, you’ll get a shrieking noise if they sense unusual motion in your family room. Look for motion sensors that filter out a dog or cat or you’ll have your sirens go off every time your pet roams by for a drink of water.
Indoor Security Camera: An indoor security camera puts a visual on your living room. View real-time feeds of the area so you can see what’s happening without leaving your bed. Or talk with your family in the family room by using the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Cord Maintenance: Protect expensive electronics and quit overtaxing your electric system with a surge protector. For added convenience, install a smart plug with anti-surge functionality built-in.
Heavy Furniture Attached To The Wall: If you have any small children, you’ll want to secure your bookshelves and entertainment center to a wall. This is especially crucial if your family room uses carpeting that could make furniture extra unbalanced.
Special Locks For Sliding Doors: If your family room has a sliding glass door that slides out to a patio, deck, or outside porch, you already can see that the lock is usually flimsy. Use an enhanced lock, like a cross bar or locks that are located on the bottom and top of the door frame.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Gulfport

The kitchen has plenty of items that should bring comfort and safety to your home. Most of these items should be easy to add and should be purchased from the a retail store:

Fire Extinguisher: Fire can happen from an overfilled skillet or an errant grease splatter. Always keep a fire extinguisher in close reach for any kitchen emergencies.
Circuit Interrupter Box On Each Outlet: A GFCI outlet should be standard on outlets where there’s nearby running water to prevent an electric shock. That includes the plug outlets by your sink and kitchen counter. Since the late ‘80s, it’s been code to have one circuit interrupter outlet per circuit. But for simplicity’s sake, you’re going to want to use an unchained GFCI for every outlet.

Monitored Carbon Monoxide Detector: A CO detector is recommended for kitchens that have natural gas for the oven and stove. If your gas burners leak, the carbon monoxide detector will play a loud, buzzing siren and call your monitoring professional.
Cleaning Wipes Or Spray: The largest safety hazard in the kitchen is actually bacteria and protein from uncooked meat and dairy. Always have disinfectant wipes or a bleach spray to sanitize your area after making a meal.
Refrigerator/Freezer Alarm: The items in the refrigerator have to stay at a constant temperature to stay healthy to eat. If you accidently leave the refrigerator door open, then a constant beep will tell you to check the seal. Some fridges already have an alarm, others do not, and you’ll have to buy a fridge alarm from the hardware store.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Gulfport

Just because there’s not a bunch of square footage in your bathroom doesn’t mean that there aren’t safety concerns. From flood prevention to electric safety, here are some safety tips for your bathroom:

Flood Sensors: A leaking sink or shower can create extensive destruction. Deal with leaks early with a flood detector before they bring about hundreds of dollars in damage.
No-slip Bathroom Mats: A fall in the bathroom can be painful, causing bumps, sore joints, or sprained ankles. Make sure you avoid these issues with a non-slip bathroom mat for your wet feet.

No-slip Bathtub Strips: Like a tiled floor, a tub basin can be a slick area to move in. Make sure every tub has some non-slip stickers so your feet and toes have a textured patch to gain traction.

Medicine Door Lock: If you have curious children or anyone with memory difficulties, you need to take additional attention regarding prescribed medicine. Secure your pills and syrups by installing a medicine cabinet with a child-proof lock.

GFCI Circuits: While installing better outlets in the kitchen, you need to also install a safer circuit interrupter outlet on every bathroom receptacle. This will shut off the current if water splashes on them or they experience a sudden surge from a curling iron or hair dryer.

Kid’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Gulfport

Your kid’s bedroom should pair safety with manageability. If their window shades or other things are safe but hard to manage, then your kids may get around the device with unsafe activities -- like climb a bookshelf -- to open them. Here are some straightforward, and safe, ideas:

No Cord Window Treatments: Safety experts have identified window treatment cords a hidden hazard for both children and pets. Use motorized blinds or shades that kids can easily control through a remote. Or go state-of-the-art and link your shades to your ADT security system so they rise on a schedule when it’s time to get up, and close at night for added darkness.

Tableside Security Camera: A security camera perched on your child’s dresser can behave like a high tech baby monitor that you can watch with a smartphone. And when they want something, they can use the intercom talk button on the camera.

Outlet Plug Covers: While every outlet should have protective covers on them when you have young children, this is especially important in a child’s bedroom. It’s the main place in your home where your toddler will most likely hang out by themselves without consistent adult supervision.

Window Fire Ladder: If you have bedrooms on an upper level, then you need to have a window fire ladder. These should help a child leave the house in case the hallway or downstairs are blocked off with fire. Just remember to practice how to unfurl them a few times a year.

Toy Chest Or Low Bookshelves: It’s weird to think about a toy chest as a safety item, but you’ll see the light if you’ve ever stepped on a Lego in your bare feet. A clutter-free floor let your child have a quick way out during a fire or break-in.

Master Bedroom Safety Checklist For Gulfport

The 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 wailing alarm can be confusing.

Smart Hub Touchscreen: Having a smart hub on your bedside table lets you see what’s going on without leaving your bed. You could alternatively use your ADT mobile app but, the HD touchscreen is often better to use when you’re coming out of sleep and disoriented.

Personal Charging Area: We rely on our phones for so many things now alarms, news readers, social media, and --legend has it-- even phones. However, a dead phone will cut us off from communications if something goes wrong. To make sure your phone always works, a charging cord or station becomes an important part of your nightstand.

Nightlight/Smart Lights: A tiny light can be a beacon when you’re startled awake from a fire alarm or other loud sounds. If you won’t drift off to sleep with an outlet light, use smart lights in your fixtures. Then you can control light anytime with a button push or voice command.
Fireproof Safe: Store your important papers like insurance cards, passports, or banking information in a fireproof safe. This can be a big one that is located out of the way or a small handheld safe that you can grab when you leave during a fire or other emergency.

Temperature Sensor: The drawback with bedrooms is that they can feel too hot or be cold because they are far away from the thermostat. A heat sensor can communicate to your smart thermostat so you will have a nice, relaxing sleep at a wonderful temperature.

Basement/Garage Safety Checklist For Gulfport

Most safety problems in the garage or basement deal with your water heater or heating system. Discovering issues early can stave away bigger problems in the future. So, as you take a look around your storage areas, take note of these critical items:

Flood Sensor Or Sump Pump Alarm: Installing a flood alarm next to your water heater and sump pump drain can prevent you from discovering a pond when you walk into your garage or basement. Do you really want to spend your day bailing out water?

Carbon Monoxide Detector: It’s nice to install a CO alarm in a place where a gas leak can occur. If you use gas heating, try to install a detector in the same area as your unit.
WiFi Water Shutoff Valve: If your water sensor senses a plumbing leak or a broken pipe, then you will have to cap the main water valve at once. With a wireless shutoff valve, you can turn off your water flow from anywhere in the world. That’s helpful when you’re out of town and see a water leak alert on your smartphone.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage up causes all sorts of headaches. You can waste heat through that open door, and critters or intruders can just walk in. A sensor will alert you to a neglected garage door and lets you lower it with your phone.
Temperature Sensor: A heat sensor in your garage or basement is a definite if you worry about your pipes freezing. The heat in these rooms can be surprisingly different than the rest of the home, so you may need to maintain a constant look on them by using your security mobile app.

Outside Perimeter Safety Checklist for Gulfport

Your foliage, driveway, and front walk are just as imperative to secure as the interior of your home. Try the items on this checklist to create a safe outside:

Doorbell Camera: See who’s at the the front step before you open it and welcome visitors. See deliveries and record video clips if they are taken.

Outdoor Security Camera: You can install outdoor cameras to alert you to late night lurkers in your yard. These devices come in handy in areas where you may not have a window installed -- like around a cellar or by the garage door.

Low Shrubbery: High foliage can give you some serenity, but they also block you seeing into the yard and curb. Don’t give potential intruders a place to hide. Plus, high shrubs or greenery against your structure can obstruct gutters and summon ants and termites.
ADT Signage: One of the biggest deterrents for home intrusion is telling would-be intruders that you have a state-of-the-art ADT security system. An ADT yard stick by the stoop and a window cling will alert ne'er-do-wells that they ought to keep walking to an unprotected score.

Motion Triggered Flood Lights: Light is the greatest enemy to people who skulk in the unlit places. Motion-triggered lighting on your deck, porch, or garage can help scare possible intruders away. They also help you work the locks when you arrive to the house on those dark, winter nights.

Use Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help Complete Your Home Safety Checklist for Gulfport

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t help you with each household item on your Gulfport home safety checklist, we can bring you a customized security system. With easy-to-use devices and ADT monitoring, we can customize the best system for your house’s needs. Simply call (228) 220-2891 for more information or fill out the form below. Or customize your own system with our Security System Designer.