Just like the old saying goes, home is where the heart is. It’s where you live, laugh, love, and find comfort. However, you can only feel truly at home when you feel safe and secure.
These are five crucial steps you can take to ensure that your home is safe for you and your family.
Lock All Doors and Windows
When you’re home and the weather is nice, it’s normal to open a few windows to get fresh air inside. Of course, this is the most obvious way that burglars enter homes.
During night when everyone in your household is asleep, you should keep your windows and doors locked. This is one of the easiest ways to make your home safer. If a burglar is out prying in your neighborhood and discovers that your doors and windows are locked, they’ll look elsewhere.
If you would like to keep some windows open, you could open some that are not on the first level during the day as long as they are not accessible from the outside. You must monitor any windows left open to ensure that children do not attempt to go through them.
Keeping windows and doors locked securely can help to make sure that your children aren’t exiting without your knowledge. Younger kids might get injured by stepping out into the road or falling into a pool.
Install a Home Alarm System
Installing a home alarm system is one of the best ways to get added security so that you can remain safe. Home security systems are affordable and allow you to view what’s going out inside and out right at your fingertips from your smartphone. You can even arm and disarm your alarm system from your phone. You can choose where to place your security cameras. Some systems are user-friendly enough to install on your own. However, if you have more a complex system, it’s well worth the added fee to have a professional install it for you.
Home alarm systems come with various features. It can alert you when a door or window has been opened. This feature alone is great for parents since it can immediately notify them if their child has exited the home. Some systems even say which exit was taken while the alarm is
set off.
Install Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Smoke alarms can help you feel safe when you’re home as they make noise and flash to alert you if you leave a pot on the stove and forget about it or if someone forgets to snuff a candle.
They should be installed in every room and hallway of your home and on every floor. This is because a fire can start anywhere in the house, especially if it was made by someone else like your partner or children while you were not in the room. Making sure your smoke alarms are in good working order is crucial as well. They can’t go off and alert you to smoke if their batteries are dead.
Likewise, having a carbon monoxide detector is also important for the safety of everyone in your household. You should have one installed on every level of your home, in all bedrooms, and outside all sleeping areas. One should also be installed near your garage. They should be placed at least 10 feet away from anything that burns fuel, circulates a lot of air, and has humid spots. Like your smoke alarms, testing carbon monoxide detectors to ensure they’re working is essential.
Monitor and Secure Your Pool
Many families have pools in their backyards as it is a great feature to entertain children. Though, precautions must always be taken when owning a pool. One of the biggest things you must do when owning a pool is to supervise your children when they are in or around it.
Accidents can happen so quickly, and if a child falls into a pool when nobody is watching, their life will be in grave danger.
It is also important to install a pool cover during the off-season. Doing so can allow you more peace of mind while your children are outside since the risk of them falling in is greatly diminished.
Make Sure Your Ducts Are Clean
Over time, the ducts and vents in your home can become clogged with dirt, dust, and other debris. This has a twofold effect: it significantly increases the risk of a fire and can adversely affect the health of you and your family by causing allergies, asthma, and other health problems.
If you find that your young children have been sick with no explanation, it may be worth it to see if this was the source. Finding a cleaning service in your area like Ottawa duct cleaning can keep your home and children safer by improving the air quality throughout and help to dramatically reduce the risk of a home fire. You should have a professional perform this service at least once every three to five years.
Use Landscape Lighting
Landscape lighting is a great way to decorate your front lawn and other areas outside your
home. It can also provide much-needed security by lighting up walkway paths and otherwise dark areas. Spotlights can illuminate areas that prowlers might try to hide in; You can have some lights automatically illuminate when a member of your household comes home after dark
or whenever a passerby gets near. This can also help you and your children to keep from
tripping and falling in the dark since they can see a pathway better with lights.
Some lights are designed specifically to spook potential burglars. These are motion sensitive and detect movement, lighting up brightly to scare away anyone who might be an intruder.
These types of lights are especially useful for protecting your home when you’re out late at night or on vacation.
Conclusion
For you to feel safe in your own home, taking precautionary security and cleaning efforts is vital. You should never live in fear of living in your own home or of your children not being safe. Using these tips to make sure your home is safer can provide you with a sense of security, making sure that you and your family members rest easy.
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