Home Safety Checklist For Brownsville

Keeping safe and secure in your residence should be your number one responsibility. But are you forgetting a few useful safety components? Take this home safety checklist for Brownsville and see where your house can use greater attention.

This guide begins with a few whole-home safety ideas, and then we break it down room-by-room. Then, phone (956) 291-4473 or fill out the form below for more information.

Basic Home Safety Checklist for Brownsville

While you should employ a room-by-room process for home safety in Brownsville, there are a few methods that are practical for your entire home. These components can sync with one another through a smart hub, and often can respond to other components. You can also control every one of your home safety devices using a mobile app, such as ADT Control:

Monitored Security System: Each one of your windows and doors should have a sensor that notifies your family to a break-in. As the alarm trips, your monitoring center picks up the call and contacts a first responder.

Smart Bulbs For Each Room: Of course, you can set your smart lights to make your house more efficient. But they can also help you remain safe throughout an emergency. Make your lights come on when an alarm triggers to shoo off intruders or light a path to a secure location.

Smart Thermostat: Like your smart lights, a smart thermostat in Brownsville could save you between 10%-15% in gas and electric costs. Also, it can turn on the exhaust fan if you have a fire.

Monitored Fire Alarms: It’s code that you will have a smoke detector on each level of your house. You can improve your fire readiness by installing a monitored fire detector that looks for unusual smoke and heat, and notifies your round-the-clock monitoring team when it detects a fire.

Smart Locks: Every door that utilizes a keyed lock can upgrade to a smart lock. Now you may preset key codes to friends and family and receive alerts to your smartphone when they are activated. Your doors can even automatically unlock, letting you quickly get out when you have a fire or other emergency.

Living Room/Family Room Safety Checklist For Brownsville

You’ll spend a lot of time in your living room, so it can be the most reasonable area to kick off your home safety optimization. Highly sought after items, like a big screen or stereo system, typically reside in your living room, making it an alluring room for thieves. Begin with hanging a motion detector or security camera by the doorway, then try all these safety protocols:

Motion Detectors: By putting in motion sensors, you’ll hear a high-decibel siren if they detect unexpected movement in your family room. You’ll want motion detectors that ignore pets or you’ll get a tripped alarm each time your cat comes in for a midnight stroll.
Indoor Camera: An indoor security camera puts an eye on your living room. View live streams of the area so you can know what’s happening from the mobile app. Or speak with family members in the family room by using the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Outlet Maintenance: Protect those electronics and quit overloading your circuits with a surge protector. For added energy-efficiency, set up a smart plug with anti-surge functionality built-in.
Furniture Secured To The Wall: If you have curious kids, you’ll want to bolt your heavy furniture and entertainment center to a wall. This is especially important if your living room uses carpet that might make heavy objects extra unbalanced.
Special Locks For Glass Doors: If your family room uses a sliding door that slides out to a deck, patio, or porch, you already can see that the lock is fairly flimsy. Put in a custom lock, like a cross bar or small locks that are located on the top and bottom of the opening.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Brownsville

Your kitchen has plenty of items that can add safety to your home. Some of these things should be easy to add and can be purchased from the a retail store:

Fire Extinguisher: A fire can come from 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 mishaps.
Circuit Interrupter Box On Every Outlet: A circuit interrupter outlet should be installed on outlets where there’s nearby running water to lessen the chance of electrocution. That means the outlets close to your sink and kitchen counter. For 30 years, it’s been code to have one GFCI per dedicated circuit. But if you don’t want all your outlets to turn off when one outlet trips, you’ll want to use an unchained GFCI on each outlet.

Monitored CO Detector: A carbon monoxide detector is recommended for spaces that use a gas oven and range. If your gas burners spring a leak, the carbon monoxide detector will play a high-decibel noise and contact your monitoring agent.
Cleaning Wipes Or Spray: The largest safety hazard in the kitchen is the invisible bacteria and cross-contamination from raw meat and dairy. Always have antiviral wipes or a bleach spray to scrub off your counters before and after preparing food.
Freezer and Refrigerator Alarm: The milk, meat, and perishables in the fridge have to remain at a cold temperature to be healthy to use. If you leave the freezer or refrigerator door open too long, then a constant beep will tell you to check the seal. Some fridges already have an alarm, older models won’t, and you’ll have to get a fridge alarm from the hardware store.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Brownsville

Just because there’s not a lot of space in your bathroom, you will still have safety hazards. From flood detectors to anti-surge outlets, here are five safety ideas for your bathroom:

Flood Detectors: A leaking toilet or tub can cause a whole lot of damage. Find out early about pooling water with a flood detector and save the time and money from water damage.
Non-slip Shower Mats: A slip and fall in the bathroom can be devastating, causing bumps, bruises, or broken bones. Or prevent these hazards with a textured bath mat for your wet feet.

No-slip Bathtub Stickers: Like a tiled floor, a tub basin can be a slick surface to be on. Make sure every bathtub has some textured stickers so your toes have a textured patch to gain traction.

Medicine Door Latch: If you have curious kids or someone with memory complications, you should take additional attention regarding prescribed medicine. Safeguard your prescriptions by using a medicine cabinet with a latch that locks.

Circuit Interrupter Outlet: Similarly to the kitchen, you should also install a grounded circuit interrupter outlet on every bathroom outlet. This will stop the flow of the electricity if water enters the outlet or you have a harmful surge from a curling iron or hair dryer.

Children’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Brownsville

A child’s bedroom should balance safety with accessibility. If their window shades or other things are safe but hard to use, then your child may try unsafe activities -- like climb a bookshelf -- to open them. Here are some simple, and safe, ideas:

Cord-Free Window Treatments: Safety professionals have identified cords from shades and blinds an unsuspecting danger for children and animals. Use motorized shades that you can easily control through a remote control. Or better yet, pair your motorized treatments to your security system so they can raise on a schedule at dawn, and lower at night for added darkness.

Tableside Security Camera: A camera perched on your kid’s dresser can double as a baby monitor that you can see from a mobile device. And if they want you, they can use the two-way talk button included on the camera.

Outlet Plug Covers: While every outlet should have outlet safety caps on them for 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 hang out alone without parental supervision.

Window Safety Ladder: If you use bedrooms on above the first level, then you should have a window safety ladder. These will help a young one get out of their room even if the stairs or lower levels are blocked off with fire. Make sure to practice how to unfurl the ladder at least twice a year.

Toy Box Or Low Shelves: It’s interesting to view a toy chest as a safety device, but you’ll understand if you’ve ever tramped on an action figure in your socked feet. A clean floor let your child have a quick escape when there’s an emergency.

Main Bedroom Safety Checklist For Brownsville

Your main bedroom should be a refuge, so let your safety components make life easier when you have an emergency event. After all, being jerked awake by a high-decibel buzzer can be disorienting.

Home Security Touchscreen: Having a smart hub on your dresser lets you see what’s what that noise was without getting out of bed. You could always turn on your ADT phone app. However, the touchscreen can be better to use when you’re yawning and finding your bearings.

Phone Charging Area: We depend on our phones for almost everything now GPS, internet searches, game machines, and sometimes even phones. The only problem is that a dead cell can cut us off from communications if during an emergency. To keep it nice and ready, a charging cord or station becomes an important part of your nightstand.

Nightlights Or Voice Activated Smart Lights: A tiny light can be a beacon when you’re startled awake from an alarm or other loud noises. If you have trouble falling asleep with a nightlight, use smart lights in your bedroom and hall. Then you can have light anytime with a push of a button or voice direction.
Fireproof Safe: Keep your essential papers like birth certificates, medical information, or a bankbook in a fireproof lockbox. Your lockbox can be a bigger one that sits in your closet or a small portable lockbox that you can carry on your way out during a fire or break-in.

Heat Sensor: The issue with bedrooms is that they tend to be too warm or be cold since they sit far away from the thermostat. A temperature sensor will talk to your smart thermostat so you should have a comfortable, restful sleep at just the right climate.

Garage/Basement Safety Checklist For Brownsville

Most safety issues in the basement or garage have to do with your water heater or heating system. Seeing issues at the source can stave away bigger emergencies in the future. So, as you take a look around your basement or garage, take note of these critical items:

Water Sensor Or Sump Pump Alarm: Putting a flood alarm by your water heater or sump pump can stop you from discovering a mess when you go into your garage or basement. It’s definitely better than sifting through a bunch of soiled storage boxes.

CO Detector: It’s nice to hang a carbon monoxide detector in an area where a gas leak can happen. If you have gas heat, try to install an alarm in the same place as your inbound pipes.
WiFi Water Shutoff Valve: If your flood alarm finds a plumbing leak or a broken pipe, then you need to shut off the primary water pipe immediately. With a WiFi shutoff valve, you can turn off your water flow from your phone. That’s nice when you’re out of town and receive a water leak alert on your mobile device.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage up causes all types of issues. You can lose a bunch of heat through that open door, and critters or intruders can just saunder in. A remote sensor will text you about a neglected garage door and lets you lower it with your phone.
Temperature Sensor: A heat alarm in your basement or garage is essential if you wonder about your pipes freezing. The heat in these areas can be wildly different than your main rooms of the house, so you will want to maintain a close look on the temp by using your security mobile app.

Outside Perimeter Safety Checklist for Brownsville

Your landscaping, drive, and front step are just as important to defend as the rest of your home. Use this checklist to create a safe outside:

Doorbell Camera: See who’s knocking on the door before you open it and welcome visitors. Get a visual on packages and review video clips if they disappear.

Outdoor Security Camera: You can place outdoor security cameras to guard against unusual movement in your back yard. These devices are especially useful in areas where you might not have a window -- like a side yard or by the garage.

Window Height Shrubs: High bushes can create some serenity, but they also hinder you seeing into the yard. Don’t give potential thieves a dark shadow to hide. Plus, tall bushes or greenery around your home can clog gutters and summon ants and termites.
ADT Signs And Decals: One of the largest deterrents for a thief is alerting aspiring intruders that you own a state-of-the-art ADT security system. An ADT yard sign by the main walk and a window cling will tell ne'er-do-wells that they should shove off to an less prepared target.

Motion Controlled Outside Lights: Light is the biggest obstacle to those who sneak around in the shadows. Motion-controlled flood lights on your deck, porch, or garage can help scare lurkers away. They also help you work the locks when you come home late at night.

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

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t help you with each household item on your Brownsville home safety checklist, we can bring you a customized home security system. With everything from alarms to thermostats, we can customize the perfect system for your home’s needs. Just call (956) 291-4473 for more information or send in the form below. Or customize your own solution with our Security System Designer.