Home Safety Checklist For Atlanta
Being safe and secure in your residence should be your largest priority. But are you overlooking a few key safety items? Use this home safety checklist for Atlanta and see where your living space needs greater attention.
This guide starts with five whole-home safety ideas, and then we break it down on a room level. Then, call (404) 551-3078 or complete the form below for more information.
General Home Safety Checklist for Atlanta
While you may want to take a room-to-room method for home safety in Atlanta, there are some things that are good for your entire home. These items can talk with one another through a touchscreen hub, and can even respond to other components. You can also manage every one of your home safety components through a mobile app, such as ADT Control:
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Monitored Home Security System: Each one of your entryways should employ a sensor that alerts you to intrusion. When an alarm goes off, your monitoring expert responds to the call and quickly calls the police or fire department.
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Smart Lights For Each Room: Sure, you can program your smart bulbs to become more energy-efficient. But smart lights can also allow you to stay safe throughout an emergency. Have your downstairs lights flash on when a security alarm triggers to shoo off burglars or brighten a path to a outside place.
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Smart Thermostat: Likewise, a smart thermostat in Atlanta can save you between 10%-15% in gas and electric spending. But it also can flip on an exhaust fan during a fire.
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Monitored Smoke Detectors: It’s code that you will have a smoke detector on every floor. You can improve your fire game by utilizing a monitored fire alarm that looks for both heat and smoke, and pings your 24-hour monitoring team when it thinks that there’s a fire.
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Smart Lock For Every Door: Every entryway that utilizes a keyed lock can upgrade to a smart lock. Now you may set key codes to each family member and receive texts to your phone when the locks are unlocked. Your doors can even automatically turn off, helping you to quickly get out if you have a fire or dangerous situation.
Family Room/Living Room Safety Checklist For Atlanta
You’ll spend a lot of time in the family room, so it’s the most reasonable place to kick off your home safety optimization. Electronics, like a big screen or video games, probably reside in your family room, making it a popular area for burglars. Begin with installing a motion sensor or indoor security camera in there, then try some of these suggestions:
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Motion Detectors: By installing motion detectors, you’ll hear a high-decibel noise if they detect unusual movement in your family room. You’ll want motion sensors that filter out pets or you’ll have a tripped alarm each time your dog roams by for a bite of food.
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Indoor Camera: An indoor security camera puts a visual on your living room. View constant streams of the area so you can find out what’s going on through the mobile app. Or chat with your family in the living room with the two-way talk feature.
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Surge Protector/Outlet Maintenance: Protect expensive electronics and quit overloading your circuits with a surge protector. For additional convenience, use a smart plug with a surge protector in the unit.
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Entertainment Center Attached To The Wall: If you have curious kids, you’ll want to attach your bookshelves and entertainment center to the wall. This is extra important if your living room uses carpeting that can make furniture extra unbalanced.
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Special Locks For Sliding Doors: If your family room has a sliding glass door that slides out to a deck, patio, or outside porch, you can see that the door lock is pretty thin. Install an enhanced lock, like a bottom bar or locks that secures the door to the top and bottom of the frame.
Kitchen Safety Checklist For Atlanta
Your kitchen has room for items that can add safety to your home. Many of these items are also simple to add and should be found in the grocery store:
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Fire Extinguisher: Fire can spring up from an unwatched skillet or a faulty burner. Always store a fire extinguisher at the ready for any kitchen mishaps.
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Circuit Interrupter Box On Each Outlet: A GFCI outlet should be installed anywhere there’s nearby water to prevent electrocution. That includes the outlets by your kitchen counter and sink. For 30 years, it’s been required to have one circuit interrupter outlet per circuit. But for simplicity’s sake, you’re going to want to install a single GFCI per outlet.
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Monitored Carbon Monoxide Detector: A carbon monoxide detector is recommended for the kitchen if you have gas for the oven and stove. If your gas appliances spring a leak, the CO detector will emit a loud, buzzing siren and call your monitoring center.
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Disinfectant Wipes Or Spray: The biggest safety problem in the kitchen is actually bacteria and contamination that comes with uncooked meat and dairy. Always have antiviral wipes or spray to clean your area before and after preparing food.
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Freezer and 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 a small beep will let you know so you can close the door. Some refrigerators come with this installed, older models do not, and you’ll have to pick up a refrigerator alarm from the hardware store.
Bathroom Safety Checklist For Atlanta
Just because there’s not a bunch of space in your bathroom there’s still safety issues. From flood detectors to electric safety, here are some safety ideas for your bathroom:
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Flood Detectors: A leaking toilet or shower can lead to extensive damage. Discover a leaking pipe with a flood detector and save hundreds to thousands of dollars from renovations.
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Non-slip Shower Mats: A fall in the bathroom can be devastating, causing pulled muscles, bruises, or sprained ankles. You can prevent these problems with a textured bath mat for while you towel off.
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Textured Bathtub Stickers: Another water hazard, a tub basin can be a slick place to move in. It’s a good idea that each tub has some no-slip strips so your feet and toes have a bumpy patch for stability.
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Medicine Door Latch: If you have young children or anyone with memory lapses, you should take additional precautions regarding medicine. Hide away your bottles by using a medicine cabinet with a latch that locks.
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Circuit Interrupter Outlet: Just like the kitchen, you should also install a safer GFCI outlet on each bathroom circuit. This will cut the electricity if they ever get wet or they experience a harmful jolt from an electric razor or hair dryer.
Child’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Atlanta
Your kid’s bedroom should balance safety with accessibility. If their window coverings or other things are safe but hard to use, then your children may perform risky methods -- like climb a bookshelf -- to touch them. Here are 5 easy, yet safe, ideas:
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Cordless Window Treatments: Safety experts have identified window treatment cords a secret hazard for children and animals. Put in motorized blinds or shades that kids can easily control via remote. Or better yet, pair your motorized coverings to your ADT security system so they rise automatically at dawn, and lower at bedtime for added darkness.
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Indoor Security Camera: A camera placed on your kid’s desk or dresser can double as an HD baby monitor that you can watch with your phone. And when they want something, they can push the two-way talk button that comes with the camera.
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Plug Covers: While each outlet should have covers on them to protect your small children, this is especially urgent in their bedroom. It’s the one place in your house where your child will most likely be solo without constant adult supervision.
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Window Escape Ladder: If you have bedrooms on the second story, then you need to put in a window escape ladder. These will help a young one leave the house when the stairs or ground floor are on fire. Just remember to practice how to employ them one or two times a year.
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Toy Box Or Low Shelves: It’s weird to look at a toy box as a safety item, but you’ll see the light if you’ve ever stepped on a building block in your stocking feet. A uncluttered floor means a quick retreat if there’s a safety or security event.
Master Bedroom Safety Checklist For Atlanta
Your bedroom should be an oasis, so let your safety items make life easier if you have an emergency. After all, being jerked awake by a loud alarm can be quite a shock.
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Smart Hub Touchscreen: Having a smart hub on your dresser lets you see what’s going on without leaving your bed. You could also log into your ADT mobile app but, the HD touchscreen can be faster to use when you’re yawning and disoriented.
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Personal Charging Station: We use our phones for almost everything now alarms, web browsers, games, and sometimes even phones. But, an uncharged device in the middle of the night cuts us off from reaching help if something goes wrong. To keep it nice and ready, a an easy-to-use charging station is an important part of your nightstand.
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Nightlights Or Voice Activated Smart Lights: A plug-in light can calm you when you’re jolted awake from a siren or unexpected sounds. If you have trouble falling asleep with an outlet light, install smart lights in your bedroom and hall. Then you can control light anytime with a button push or voice direction.
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Fireproof Lockbox: Keep your important documents like insurance cards, stock certificates, or banking information in a fireproof lockbox. This can be a big one that camps out in a corner or a small handheld safe that you can snatch on your way out during a fire or break-in.
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Heat Sensor: The drawback with a master bedroom is that they can feel too stuffy or be frigid since they sit far away from the thermostat. A heat sensor will talk to your smart thermostat so you will have a nice, restful sleep at a wonderful climate.
Basement/Garage Safety Checklist For Atlanta
Most safety needs in the garage or basement are with your pipes or HVAC system. Discovering hazards before they start can stave away larger disasters later on. So, as you walk around your storage areas, pay attention to these critical items:
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Flood Sensor Or Sump Pump Alarm: Placing a flood sensor next to your water heater or sump pump can save you from wading into a pond when you go into your basement or garage. It’s much better than sorting through a heap of destroyed storage boxes.
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Carbon Monoxide Alarm: It’s smart to install a carbon monoxide detector in areas where a CO leak can happen. If you use gas heating, you’ll want to put an alarm in the same place as your HVAC unit.
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Wireless Water Shutoff Valve: If your flood alarm senses a hot water leak or a burst pipe, then you need to cut off the main water valve at once. With a remote shutoff valve, you can turn off your water flow from anywhere in the world. That’s nice when you’re out of town and see a water leak text on your phone.
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Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage up brings about all sorts of headaches. You can waste heat through that large opening, and critters or thieves can just wander in. A sensor will notify you about an open garage door and lets you close it through the app.
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Heat Sensor: A temperature sensor in your basement or garage is a definite if you worry about freezing pipes. The temperature in these rooms can be surprisingly different than your main rooms of the home, so you may need to maintain a close look on them with the ADT mobile app.
Outside Perimeter Safety Checklist for Atlanta
Your front yard, driveway, and front porch are just as crucial to make safe as the interior of your house. Use this checklist to make your outside safe:
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Doorbell Security Camera: See who’s at the the front step before you open it and welcome guests. View package deliveries and record video clips if they vanish off the step.
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Outdoor Camera: You can install outdoor security cameras to guard against unusual activity in your yard. These devices are especially useful in places where you might not have a window installed -- like a side yard or by the driveway.
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Low Shrubbery: Overgrown foliage can create some serenity, but they also obscure your view of the yard. Don’t provide potential thieves a place to hide. Plus, high bushes or trees around your structure can obstruct gutters and bring in bugs.
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ADT Yard Signs: One of the most popular disincentives for a thief is alerting aspiring intruders that you own a monitored home security system. An ADT yard stick by the stoop and a window sticker will alert lurkers that they should shove off to an easier house.
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Motion Controlled Outside Lighting: Light is the greatest obstacle to people who skulk in the unlit places. Motion-activated flood lights on your deck, patio, or garage can shoo possible intruders away. They also help you see the walk when you come home late at night.
Call Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help Complete Your Home Safety Checklist for Atlanta
While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t deliver non-security devices on your Atlanta home safety checklist, we can install a state-of-the-art security system. With alarms, security cameras, and home automation, we can install the perfect system for your house’s needs. Just contact (404) 551-3078 to get started or fill out the form below. Or personalize your own ADT system with our Security System Designer.