Home Safety Checklist For Champaign

Keeping safe and secure in your house should be your topmost priority. But are you overlooking some key safety items? Use this home safety checklist for Champaign and see where your house needs an update.

This guide starts with a few whole-home safety items, and then we delve down room-by-room. Then, call (217) 765-0086 or send in the form below for more information.

Essential Home Safety Checklist for Champaign

While you should employ a room-to-room process for home safety in Champaign, there are some things that are useful for each part of your home. These components can talk together through a touchscreen hub, and oftentimes respond to other things. You might also control every one of your home safety components using a mobile app, such as ADT Control:

Monitored Security System: Each one of your entryways should employ a sensor that warns you and your family to intrusion. After your alarm trips, your monitoring center responds to the call and quickly calls emergency personnel.

Smart Lighting For Each Room: Of course, you can program your smart bulbs to become more eco-conscience. But they can also allow you to keep safe in an emergency. Make your lights come on when a security alarm goes off to scare off robbers or brighten a path to a outside place.

Smart Thermostat: Likewise, a smart thermostat in Champaign can save you 10%-15% in energy spending. It also can turn on your exhaust fan when your alarms senses a fire.

Monitored Fire Alarms: At the very least, you will have a smoke detector on each level of your house. You can increase your fire readiness by installing a monitored fire alarm that senses both smoke and heat, and alerts your 24-hour monitoring experts when it detects a fire.

Smart Lock For Every Door: Every doorway that needs a deadbolt can upgrade to a smart lock. Now you may program codes to family and friends and get notifications to your phone when they are activated. Your doors can even automatically turn off, helping you to quickly get out if you have an emergency.

Family Room Safety Checklist For Champaign

You’ll spend most of your time in the living room, so it can be the most reasonable area to optimize your home safety. Electronics, like a TV or video games, typically are located in your living room, making it a tempting space for robbers. Start with placing a motion sensor or indoor camera in there, then take a look at all these safety protocols:

Motion Detectors: By hanging motion detectors, you’ll have a shrieking noise whenever they sense suspicious movement within your living room. You’ll want motion detectors that filter out pet movements or you’ll get your sirens go off every time your cat roams by for a bite of food.
Security Camera: An indoor security camera offers a visual on your family room. View constant streams of everything so you can find out what’s downstairs from the mobile app. Or chat with family members in the family room by using the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Outlet Maintenance: Make sure you protect those electronics and stop overtaxing your electric system with a surge protector. For additional energy-efficiency, use a smart plug with anti-surge functionality included.
Heavy Furniture Attached To The Wall: If you have curious kids, you’ll want to bolt your entertainment center or other heavy furniture to a wall. This is especially crucial if your living room uses carpeting that can make heavy objects extra wobbly.
Special Locks For Sliding Glass Doors: If your living room has a sliding door that leads to a backyard, deck, or porch, you probably can see that the latch is usually flimsy. Install a custom lock, like a bottom bar or small locks that secures the door to the top and bottom of the door frame.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Champaign

Your kitchen has room for items that should provide safety and security to your house. Many of these objects should be a snap to add and can be found in the a retail store:

Fire Extinguisher: Fire can come from from a neglected skillet or an errant grease splatter. Always keep a fire extinguisher at hand for any cooking emergencies.
Circuit Interrupter Box On Each Outlet: A GFCI outlet should be used anywhere they’re by water to prevent electrocution. That means the plug outlets around your sink and kitchen counter. Since 1987, it’s been code to have one circuit interrupter outlet per dedicated circuit. But each one of your plugs will go dead if any outlet senses a surge, so you’ll want to have an unchained GFCI per outlet.

Monitored CO Detector: A CO detector is recommended for kitchens that use a gas oven and stove. If your gas lines leak, the CO detector will cause a high-decibel siren and ping your monitoring center.
Cleaning Wipes Or Spray: The largest safety hazard in the kitchen is the viruses, bacteria, and cross-contamination that comes with uncooked meat and other foods. Always keep disinfectant wipes or a bleach spray to clean your counters after making a meal.
Refrigerator/Freezer Alarm: The items in the fridge have to stay at a cold temperature to stay ready to eat. If you leave the refrigerator door open too long, then a constant beep will remind you to close the door. Some refrigerators already have a pre-installed alarm, others do not, and you’ll have to get a fridge alarm from the store.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Champaign

Just because there’s not a lot of space in your bathroom there’s still safety concerns. From flood prevention to electric safety, here are a few safety ideas for your bathroom:

Flood Detectors: A leaking sink or tub can cause extensive destruction. Deal with a water problem with a flood detector and save the time and money from renovations.
No-slip Shower Mats: A fall in the bathroom can be a painful occurrence, causing pulled muscles, gashed heads, or sprained ankles. You can steer clear from these issues with a textured bathroom mat for while you towel off.

No-slip Bathtub Stickies: Likewise, a tub can be a slick area to stand in. It’s a good idea that every bathtub has some non-slip stickies so your feet and toes have a rough patch to grip.

Medicine Door Latch: If you have little kids or a family member with memory difficulties, you need to take additional care regarding prescription medicine. Hide away your bottles by getting a medicine cabinet with a locking latch.

GFCI Circuits: While installing better outlets in the kitchen, you should also put in a surge protecting circuit interrupter outlet on each bathroom outlet. This will shut off the current if they ever get wet or you have a harmful surge from a hair dryer or curling iron.

Kid’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Champaign

Your kid’s bedroom should counterbalance safety with accessibility. If their window treatments or other things are safe but difficult to operate, then your children may perform risky methods -- like shimmying up a bookshelf -- to touch them. Here are some straightforward, and safe, ideas:

No Cord Window Treatments: Safety experts have designated window treatment cords a hidden hazard for kids and pets. Put in motorized treatments that your child can easily open and close through a remote control. Or better yet, pair your motorized treatments to your ADT smart hub so they can raise automatically when the sun comes up, and close in the evening for added darkness.

Indoor Security Camera: A camera placed on your child’s dresser can double as a high tech baby monitor that you can see from a smartphone. And if they want you, they can hit the 2-way talk button included on the camera.

Outlet Plug Covers: While each outlet should have covers on them when you have little children, this is doubly urgent in a child’s bedroom. It’s the one place in your home where your child will most likely play solo without constant adult supervision.

Window Escape Ladder: If you have bedrooms on the second floor, then you will want to install a window fire ladder. These should help a young one escape even if the hallway or downstairs are blocked off with fire. Just remember to rehearse how to employ them a few times a year.

Toy Box Or Low Bookshelves: It’s strange to look at a toy box as a safety device, but you’ll get it if you’ve ever walked on a Lego in your bare feet. A uncluttered floor let your child have a quick escape if there’s a safety or security event.

Main Bedroom Safety Checklist For Champaign

The bedroom should be your calm space, so let your safety items make life easier if you have an emergency. After all, being startled awake by a high-decibel alarm can be confusing.

Home Security Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your dresser gives you a sense of what’s what that noise was without leaving your bed. You could always turn on your ADT phone app but, the touchscreen is often better to use when you’re coming out of sleep and confused.

Device Charging Area: We use our phones for so much now alarm clocks, internet searches, game machines, and --legend has it-- even phones. However, an uncharged device in the middle of the night cuts us off from the outside world if there’s a problem. So, a charging cord or station becomes an important part of your nightstand.

Smart Lights Or Nightlights: A plug-in light can be a beacon when you’re bolted awake from an alarm or other sounds. If you won’t drift off to sleep with a nightlight, install smart bulbs in your bedroom. Then you can get light anytime with a push of a button or voice direction.
Fireproof Lockbox: Stash your vital paperwork like birth certificates, passports, or banking information in a fireproof safe. Your lockbox can be a bigger one that camps out out of the way or a smaller portable lockbox that you can snatch when you leave during a fire or other emergency.

Temperature Sensor: The issue with bedrooms is that they might run too stuffy or be frigid since they are far from the thermostat. A heat sensor can communicate to your smart thermostat so you will have a nice, peaceful sleep at a wonderful temperature.

Basement/Garage Safety Checklist For Champaign

Most safety needs in the garage or basement are with your pipes or heating system. Finding issues before they start can stave away more devastating problems in the future. So, as you look around your garage or basement, take note of these safety items:

Water Detector Or Sump Pump Alarm: Putting a flood alarm by your water heater and sump pump drain can prevent you from discovering a pond when you step into your garage or basement. Do you really want to lose your day drying the floor?

Carbon Monoxide Detector: It’s beneficial to hang a CO detector in an area where a CO leak can happen. If you have a gas furnace, you should hang a detector in the same area as your HVAC unit.
WiFi Water Shutoff Valve: If your water detector finds a hot water heater leak or a burst pipe, then you will want to shut off the main water pipe at once. With a WiFi shutoff valve, you can block water flow from any mobile device. That’s nice when you’re out of town and get a flood sensor notification on your mobile device.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage door open leads to all types of headaches. You can waste heat or air through that gaping hole, and all sorts of animals or lurkers can just wander in. A sensor will notify you about a neglected garage door and lets you lower it remotely.
Heat Sensor: A heat alarm in your garage or basement is essential if you wonder about frozen pipes. The temperature in these rooms can be drastically different than your main rooms of the home, so you may need to maintain a close look on them through the ADT mobile app.

Outside Safety Checklist for Champaign

Your foliage, driveway, and front porch are just as crucial to make safe as the inside of your home. Try the items on this checklist to make your outside safe:

Doorbell Camera: See who’s at the door before you answer it and chat with guests. Get a visual on packages and look at video clips if they vanish off the step.

Outdoor Camera: You can install outdoor security cameras to notify you about late night activity in your back yard. These devices are especially useful in areas where you might not have a window -- like around a cellar or by the garage.

Low Bushes: Tall shrubs can give you some privacy, but they also obscure your view of the outside. Don’t provide potential burglars an area to hide. Plus, large bushes or trees too close to your home can jam up gutters and invite bugs.
ADT Signage: One of the most popular disincentives for home intrusion is advertising to would-be intruders that you have a monitored ADT security system. An ADT sign by the main walk and a window sticker will alert ne'er-do-wells that they might want to keep walking to an less prepared score.

Motion Triggered Outside Lights: Light is the best enemy to people who skulk in the unlit places. Motion-triggered lights on your deck, patio, or garage can shoo lurkers away. They also help you work the locks when you come home late after work.

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

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t install non-security devices on your Champaign home safety checklist, we can install a powerful home security system. With easy-to-use devices and ADT monitoring, we can customize the best system for your home’s needs. Just contact (217) 765-0086 for more information or fill out the form below. Or personalize your own system with our Security System Designer.