Home Safety Checklist For Tucson

Keeping safe and secure in your residence should be your number one responsibility. But are you overlooking a few useful safety components? Look over this home safety checklist for Tucson and discover where your living space requires an update.

This guide begins with five whole-home safety items, and then we whittle it down to specific room ideas. Then, call (520) 485-5682 or send in the form below to speak to a security professional.

General Home Safety Checklist for Tucson

While you may want to take a room-to-room method for home safety, there are a few items that work for the whole-house approach. These devices can link to each other through a smart hub, and often can respond to other components. You can also control all your home safety devices using a smartphone app, like ADT Control:

Monitored Security System: Each one of your entryways should use a sensor that notifies you to a break-in. As your alarm goes off, your monitoring center picks up the call and immediately contacts a first responder.

Smart Lights For Most Rooms: Sure, you can program your smart bulbs so your home is more energy-efficient. But they can also allow you to remain safe in an emergency. Make your smart bulbs come on when a sensor triggers to shoo off robbers or brighten the way out to a safe area.

Smart Thermostat: Likewise, a smart thermostat in Tucson should save you between 10%-15% in gas and electric spending. It also can flip on the exhaust fan if you have a fire.

Monitored Fire Detectors: It’s code that you have a fire detector on each level. You can increase your fire readiness by utilizing a monitored fire alarm that senses excessive heat and smoke, and notifies your 24-hour monitoring team when it thinks that there’s a fire.

Smart Lock For Every Door: Every door that utilizes a keyed lock can use a smart lock. Now you may preset codes to friends and family and get texts to your phone when your locks are activated. Your locks can even automatically unlock, letting you quickly flee the house if you have an emergency.

Family Room Safety Checklist For Tucson

You’ll spend most of your time in your living room, so it may be the perfect place to optimize your home safety. Popular items, like a big screen or video game console, probably are located in your family room, making it a tempting area for thieves. Begin with hanging a motion sensor or indoor security camera by the doorway, then try the following ideas:

Motion Sensors: By hanging motion sensors, you’ll get a high-decibel noise if they detect unusual motion within your family room. The best devices are motion detectors that ignore pets or you’ll have an alert every time your pet comes in for a midnight stroll.
Indoor Camera: An indoor security camera gives you an eye on your family room. Get real-time streams of everything so you can see what’s happening from the mobile app. Or chat with your family in the room using the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Cord Maintenance: Make sure you protect all your electronics and stop overloading your outlets with a surge protector. For extra convenience, set up a smart plug with a surge protector included.
Furniture Secured To The Wall: If you have babies or toddlers, you’ll want to attach your entertainment center or other heavy furniture to your wall. This is extra important if your living room has carpet that could make objects extra unstable.
Enhanced Locks For Sliding Glass Doors: If your family room uses a sliding glass door that opens to a backyard, deck, or porch, you already get that the door lock is usually thin. Put in an enhanced lock, like a cross bar or locks that bolt to the bottom and top of the door frame.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Tucson

Your kitchen has plenty of items that should bring comfort and safety to your house. Most of these items should be easy to add and can be purchased from the grocery store:

Fire Extinguisher: A fire can happen from a neglected skillet or a faulty burner. Always keep a fire extinguisher at the ready for any stove or oven mishaps.
Circuit Interrupter Box On Every Outlet: A GFCI outlet should be standard on outlets where they’re by water to lessen the chance of a deadly shock. That includes the plugs around your sink and kitchen counter. Since 1987, it’s been required to have one GFCI per dedicated circuit. But if you don’t want every outlet to turn off when one outlet surges, you’ll want to use a separate GFCI per outlet.

Monitored CO Detector: A CO detector is handy in kitchens that use natural gas for the stove and oven. If your gas burners spring a leak, the carbon monoxide detector will play a high-decibel sound and call your monitoring center.
Disinfectant Wipes Or Spray: The biggest safety issue in the kitchen is the invisible bacteria and cross-contamination from blood from meat and vegetables. Always have disinfectant wipes or spray to sanitize your counters when preparing food.
Refrigerator Alarm: The food items in the refrigerator should remain at a constant temperature to be healthy to use. If you leave the refrigerator door ajar, then a small beep will let you know so you can close the door. Some refrigerators already have an alarm, older models won’t, and you’ll have to buy a fridge alarm from the store.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Tucson

Just because there’s not a bunch of space in your bathroom there’s still safety hazards. From water problems to electric safety, here are five safety tips for your bathroom:

Flood Detectors: A leaking toilet or shower can cause extensive destruction. Get alerted early about water problems with a flood detector and save yourself from renovating the entire bathroom.
No-slip Shower Mats: A slip and fall in the bathroom can be a painful occurrence, causing cuts, gashed heads, or broken bones. Make sure you avoid these issues with a textured bathroom mat for after your bath or shower.

No-slip Bathtub Strips: Like a tiled floor, a tub basin can be a slippery area to move in. It’s a good idea that each has some no-slip stickies so your toes have a rough patch to grip.

Medicine Door Latch: If you have young children or someone with memory complications, you should take extra care regarding prescribed medicine. Hide away your pills and syrups by getting a medicine cabinet with a latch that locks.

GFCI Circuits: Just like the kitchen, you will have to also put in a grounded circuit interrupter outlet on every bathroom circuit. This will stop the flow of the current if they ever get wet or they experience a harmful spike from a curling iron or hair dryer.

Child’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Tucson

Your kid’s bedroom should counterbalance safety with simplicity. If their window coverings or other things are safe but hard to use, then your kids may get around the device with dangerous activities -- like shimmying up a chest of drawers -- to open them. Here are 5 easy, yet safe, ideas:

Cordless Window Treatments: Safety agencies have identified window treatment cords a secret problem for both children and pets. Use motorized shades that your child can easily manage with a remote. Or go state-of-the-art and link your shades to your ADT smart hub so they rise automatically when the sun comes up, and close at bedtime for extra privacy.

Indoor Security Camera: A camera sitting on your toddler’s desk or dresser can behave like a baby monitor that you can view from your phone. And when they need you, they can use the 2-way talk button that comes with the camera.

Outlet Covers: While every outlet should use covers on them for your little children, this is doubly important in their bedroom. It’s the one place in your home where your children will most likely play by themselves without constant adult supervision.

Window Safety Ladder: If you use bedrooms on the second level, then you should put in a window fire ladder. These will help your children escape when the stairs or ground floor are blocked off with fire. Make sure to go over how to use them a few times a year.

Toy Chest Or Low Bookshelves: It’s strange to think about a toy chest as a safety item, but you’ll understand if you’ve ever tramped on a building block in your bare feet. A clean floor let your child have a quick escape during a safety or security event.

Master Bedroom Safety Checklist For Tucson

The master bedroom should be an oasis, so let your safety devices give you peace of mind if there's an emergency event. After all, being jerked awake by a wailing siren can be confusing.

Security System Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your bedside table lets you see what’s what that noise was without getting out of bed. You could also turn on your ADT phone app but, the large touchscreen can be easier to use to use when you’re coming out of sleep and finding your bearings.

Phone Charging Area: We rely on our phones for so much now alarms, internet searches, games, and sometimes even phones. But, a dead phone can cut us off from the outside world if during an emergency. To make sure your phone always works, a charging cord or station becomes should be used nightly.

Smart Lights Or Nightlights: A plug-in light can calm you when you’re bolted awake from a fire alarm or other loud noises. If you can’t fall asleep with a nightlight, put in smart bulbs in your bedroom and hall. Then you can control light anytime with a mobile device or voice command.
Fireproof Lockbox: Store your essential paperwork like social security cards, passports, or a spare checkbook in a fireproof lockbox. This can be a large one that camps out in a corner or a small portable safe that you can carry when you leave during an emergency event.

Heat Sensor: The drawback with most bedrooms is that they can run too warm or be cold since they are far away from the thermostat. A temperature sensor will communicate to your smart thermostat so you will have a nice, peaceful sleep at the perfect climate.

Garage/Basement Safety Checklist For Tucson

Most safety needs in the basement or garage deal with your pipes or furnace. Seeing hazards at the source can stop more devastating problems in the future. So, as you walk around your garage or basement, take note of these critical items:

Water Sensor Or Sump Pump Alarm: Putting a flood alarm next to your water heater and sump pump drain can prevent you from discovering a lake when you step into your garage or basement. Do you really want to lose your night bailing out water?

CO Detector: It’s smart to hang a CO alarm in a place where a CO leak can occur. If you employ a gas furnace, try to install an alarm in the same room as your unit.
Remote Water Shutoff Valve: If your flood sensor senses a hot water leak or a broken pipe, then you need to cut off the main water pipe quickly. With a remote shutoff valve, you can turn off your water flow from any mobile device. That’s nice when you’re out of town and receive an emergency leak text on your smartphone.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage door open causes all types of issues. You can lose a bunch of heat or air through that gaping hole, and critters or intruders can just walk in. A remote sensor will alert you to a neglected garage door and lets you close it with your phone.
Heat Sensor: A temperature sensor in your basement or garage is a definite if you fret about your pipes freezing. The temperature in these areas can be surprisingly different than the main part of the home, so you may need to keep a constant look on them through the ADT mobile app.

Outside Safety Checklist for Tucson

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

Doorbell Camera: See who’s arrived at the front door before you open it and welcome visitors. Get a visual on deliveries and review video clips if they vanish off the step.

Outdoor Camera: You can place outdoor security cameras to guard against suspicious activity in your back yard. These cameras are nice in areas where you might not have a view -- like a side yard or by the garage.

Low Bushes: Tall foliage can give you some privacy, but they also hinder you seeing into the yard. Don’t offer potential burglars a place to hide. Plus, tall shrubs or trees against your house can obstruct gutters and invite ants and termites.
ADT Signage: One of the largest disincentives for home intrusion is telling potential burglars that you use a state-of-the-art home security system. An ADT yard stick by the front door and a window decal will tell ne'er-do-wells that they ought to keep walking to an less prepared target.

Motion Triggered Porch Lighting: Light is the best enemy to people who skulk in the unlit places. Motion-activated lighting on your deck, patio, or garage can help scare possible intruders away. Lights also help you work the locks when you get to the house late at night.

Use Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help You With Your Home Safety Checklist for Tucson

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t help you with non-security devices on your Tucson home safety checklist, we can bring you a customized security system. With alarms, security cameras, and home automation, we can install the perfect system for your house’s needs. Simply phone (520) 485-5682 to get started or send in the form below. Or personalize your own solution with our Security System Designer.