Home Safety Checklist For Jacksonville

Staying safe and secure in your residence should be your topmost responsibility. But are you forgetting some key safety components? Take this home safety checklist for Jacksonville and see where your home needs greater attention.

We give you a few whole-home safety ideas, and then we delve down to specific room ideas. Then, phone (904) 297-5779 or send in the form below to get your house safe and secure.

General Home Safety Checklist for Jacksonville

While you will want to employ a individual room method for home safety, there are a few things that work for the entire house approach. These items can sync together through a wireless hub, and often can respond to other things. You might also manage all your home safety devices through a mobile security app, like ADT Control:

Monitored Home Security System: All your windows and doors should have a sensor that warns your family to intrusion. As your alarm trips, your monitoring center responds to the call and quickly calls the police or fire department.

Smart Bulbs For Each Room: Sure, you can set your smart bulbs so your house is more energy-efficient. But smart lights can also help you keep safe in an emergency. Make your lights come on when a security alarm goes off to scare off robbers or brighten your way to a secure place.

Smart Thermostat: Likewise, a smart thermostat in Jacksonville should save you up to 15% in energy spending. It also can flip on the exhaust fan if you have a fire.

Monitored Smoke Detectors: At the very least, you need to have a fire detector on each level of your house. You can improve your fire preparedness by utilizing a monitored fire detector that senses unusual heat and smoke, and alerts your 24/7 monitoring experts when it senses a fire.

Smart Locks: Every door that needs a deadbolt can use a smart lock. Now you can assign codes to family and friends and receive texts to your smartphone when they are activated. Your locks can even automatically turn off, allowing you to quickly get out when you have a fire or other emergency.

Family Room Safety Checklist For Jacksonville

You’ll spend a lot of time in your living room, so it can be the perfect place to start making your home more secure. Electronics, like a big screen or video games, usually sit in your living room, making it an alluring space for thieves. Start with placing a motion detector or indoor camera by the doorway, then try all these suggestions:

Motion Sensors: By putting in motion sensors, you’ll have a loud noise whenever they detect unusual motion in your family room. Look for motion detectors that aren’t set off by a dog or cat or you’ll see an alert every time your cat passes through for a bite of food.
Security Camera: An indoor security camera offers an eye on your family room. Watch real-time streams of your room so you can know what’s happening through the mobile app. Or speak with your family when they get back from school with the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Outlet Maintenance: Protect expensive electronics and stop overloading your electric system with a surge protector. For added comfort, install a smart plug with a surge protector included.
Entertainment Center Secured To The Wall: If you have babies or toddlers, you’ll need to attach your heavy furniture and entertainment center to a wall. This is especially important if your living room uses carpeting that can make heavy objects extra unstable.
Enhanced Locks For Sliding Doors: If your living room uses a glass door that leads to a patio, deck, or screened-in porch, you already get that the latch is fairly flimsy. Install a special lock, like a bottom bar or small locks that secures the door to the bottom and top of the frame.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Jacksonville

Your kitchen has many items that should bring comfort and safety to your house. Many of these things are also simple to add and should be bought from the a retail store:

Fire Extinguisher: A fire can spring up from an unwatched pot or a towel that’s too close to a burner. Always have a fire extinguisher at the ready for any kitchen emergencies.
GFCI Box On Each Outlet: A circuit interrupter outlet should be standard on outlets where there’s nearby running water to ward off electrocution. That includes the outlets around your kitchen counter and sink. For 30 years, it’s been standard to have one circuit interrupter outlet per circuit. But for simplicity’s sake, try to have an unchained GFCI for every outlet.

Monitored Carbon Monoxide Detector: A carbon monoxide detector is handy in spaces that have natural gas for the oven and range. If your gas appliances spring a leak, the carbon monoxide detector will cause a high-decibel sound and call your monitoring center.
Cleaning Wipes Or Spray: The most overlooked safety problem in the kitchen is the invisible bacteria and protein from raw meat and other foods. Always have antiviral wipes or an antibacterial spray to sanitize your counters when making a meal.
Refrigerator Alarm: The food items in your fridge have to stay at a constant temperature to stay safe to use. If you accidently leave the refrigerator door open, then a constant beep will tell you to close the door. Some appliances already have this installed, older models won’t, and you’ll have to pick up a refrigerator alarm from the store.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Jacksonville

Just because you may not have a bunch of square footage in your bathroom there’s still safety concerns. From flood detectors to anti-surge outlets, here are some safety improvements for your bathroom:

Flood Detectors: A leaking toilet or tub can cause an expensive amount of damage. Discover pooling water early with a flood detector and save yourself from redoing the whole bathroom.
Textured Bath Mats: A slip and fall in the bathroom can be a painful occurrence, causing pulled muscles, bruises, or trips to the hospital. Make sure you steer clear from these issues with a textured bathroom mat for while you towel off.

Non-slip Bathtub Stickies: Like a tiled floor, a tub basin can be a slick surface to be on. Make sure every bathtub has some non-slip stickers so your toes have a rough patch to gain traction.

Medicine Door Lock: If you have young children or anyone with memory difficulties, you should take extra precautions regarding prescribed medicine. Secure your bottles by using a medicine cabinet with a child-proof lock.

GFCI Circuits: While installing better outlets in the kitchen, you should also install a grounded GFCI outlet on every bathroom circuit. This will cut the electricity if water splashes on them or you have a sudden jolt from a hair dryer or curling iron.

Child’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Jacksonville

A child’s bedroom should pair safety with manageability. If their window coverings or other things are safe but tricky to use, then your child may perform unsafe activities -- like climb a dresser -- to use them. Here are 5 easy, and safe, ideas:

Cordless Window Coverings: Safety experts have designated window treatment cords a secret hazard for both children and pets. Use motorized blinds or shades that your child can easily open and close through a remote control. Or even better, connect your motorized treatments to your security system so they can raise without anyone’s help when the sun comes up, and lower in the evening for added darkness.

Indoor Security Camera: An indoor security camera placed on your toddler’s desk or dresser can double as a high tech baby monitor that you can see with your phone. And if they want your help, they can push the two-way talk button that comes with the camera.

Outlet Covers: While each outlet should use outlet safety caps on them to protect your young children, this is especially important in a child’s bedroom. It’s the one room in your house where your toddler will most likely play solo without constant adult supervision.

Window Fire Ladder: If you use bedrooms on an upper story, then you need to put in a window safety ladder. These should help a child leave the house in case the stairs or downstairs are engulfed in smoke and 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 box as a safety item, but you’ll see the light if you’ve ever walked on an action figure in your bare feet. A uncluttered floor let your child have a quick escape during an emergency.

Master Bedroom Safety Checklist For Jacksonville

Your master bedroom should be an oasis, so let your safety items give you peace of mind if you experience an emergency event. After all, being wrenched awake by a high-decibel alarm can be quite a shock.

Security System Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your dresser helps you know what’s what that noise was without getting out of bed. You could also turn on your ADT phone app but, the HD touchscreen is often faster to use when you’re yawning and confused.

Device Charging Station: We use our cell phones for so many things now GPS, internet searches, time wasters, and sometimes even phones. The only problem is that a dead device in the middle of the night cuts us off from reaching help if there’s a problem. To keep it nice and ready, a an easy-to-use charging station is should be used nightly.

Nightlights Or Voice Activated Smart Lights: A tiny light can be a beacon when you’re startled awake from an alarm or unexpected noises. If you can’t fall asleep with a nightlight, install smart lights in your bedroom. Then you can have light on-demand with a button push or vocal command.
Fireproof Safe: Stash your essential paperwork like insurance cards, passports, or a bankbook in a fireproof lockbox. Your safe can be a bigger one that camps out in a corner or a small portable lockbox that you can snatch when you leave during a fire or other emergency.

Heat Sensor: The issue with most bedrooms is that they might run too hot or be cold since they are located far away from the thermostat. A temperature sensor will communicate to your smart thermostat so you should have a comfortable, restful sleep at just the right climate.

Basement/Garage Safety Checklist For Jacksonville

Most safety needs in the garage or basement have to do with your water or furnace. Seeing problems early can stop bigger disasters in the future. So, as you look around your storage areas, pay attention to these crucial items:

Flood Detector Or Sump Pump Alarm: Putting a flood alarm next to your water heater and sump pump can save you from finding a pond when you go into your garage or basement. Do you really want to waste your night getting rid of standing water?

Carbon Monoxide Alarm: It’s smart to have a CO alarm in a place where a gas leak can happen. If you employ a gas furnace, try to put an alarm in the same area as your HVAC unit.
Remote Water Shutoff Valve: If your flood sensor finds a plumbing leak or a burst pipe, then you need to cut off the primary water valve at once. With a WiFi shutoff valve, you can stop water flow from any mobile device. That’s helpful when you’re out of town and see a water leak text on your mobile device.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage open brings about all sorts of issues. You can waste heat or air through that gaping hole, and rodents or thieves can just saunder in. A remote sensor will notify you about a neglected garage door and lets you lower it through the app.
Temperature Sensor: A heat sensor in your garage or basement is handy if you worry about freezing pipes. The heat in these rooms can be surprisingly different than your main rooms of the home, so you may want to maintain a constant look on the temperature with your security mobile app.

Outside Safety Checklist for Jacksonville

Your foliage, drive, and front walk are just as important to make safe as the inside of your home. Use this checklist to create a safe outside:

Doorbell Camera: See who’s knocking on the front door before you open it and talk to guests. Get a visual on packages and look at video clips if they disappear.

Outdoor Security Camera: You can place outdoor security cameras to alert you to unusual lurkers in your yard. These security cameras come in handy in areas where you may not have a view -- like around a cellar or by the garage door.

Low Bushes: Tall bushes can give you some privacy, but they also hinder your view of the outside. Don’t offer potential thieves a dark shadow to hide. Plus, large bushes or foliage too close to your home can obstruct gutters and summon pests.
ADT Signs And Decals: One of the largest deterrents for a thief is telling potential rogues that you have a monitored home security system. An ADT yard stick by the main walk and a window cling will alert lurkers that they might want to move on to an easier target.

Motion Activated Outside Light Fixtures: Light is the biggest deterrent to those who lurk in the dark. Motion-controlled lighting on your deck, porch, or garage can shoo lurkers away. They also help you work the locks when you get home on those dark, winter nights.

Use Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help You Finish Your Home Safety Checklist for Jacksonville

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t deliver each household item on your Jacksonville home safety checklist, we can bring you a customized security system. With everything from alarms to thermostats, we can install the ideal system for your home’s needs. Simply phone (904) 297-5779 to get started or send in the form below. Or customize your own system with our Security System Designer.