Home Safety Checklist For Brooklyn

Being safe and secure in your home should be your topmost priority. But are you missing a few useful safety items? Look over this home safety checklist for Brooklyn and see where your home requires an update.

This guide starts with five whole-home safety techniques, and then we break it down on a room level. Then, call (212) 553-6593 or complete the form below to speak to a security agent.

Basic Home Safety Checklist for Brooklyn

While you may want to use a individual room approach to home safety, there are a few items that work for the whole-house approach. These devices can talk to each other through a touchscreen hub, and often can respond to other things. You might also control every one of your home safety components through a mobile security app, like ADT Control:

Monitored Security System: Each one of your doors and windows should employ a sensor that notifies your family to intrusion. When an alarm goes off, your monitoring center picks up the call and contacts the police or fire department.

Smart Lighting For Each Room: Sure, you can set your smart lights to make your home more energy-efficient. But smart lights can also help you remain safe throughout an emergency. Make your lights come on when an alarm trips to frighten off burglars or light the way out to a outside place.

Smart Thermostat: Like your smart lights, a smart thermostat in Brooklyn could save you between 10%-15% in gas and electric spending. It also can turn on your exhaust fan during a fire.

Monitored Fire Detectors: At the very least, you need to have a fire detector on every floor. You can increase your fire preparedness by installing a monitored fire alarm that senses both smoke and heat, and notifies your 24/7 monitoring team when it thinks that there’s a fire.

Smart Door Locks: Every door that utilizes a keyed lock can upgrade to a smart door lock. Now you may set numbered codes to each family member and receive notifications to your smartphone when they are used. Your doors can even automatically open, helping you to quickly get out during an emergency.

Family Room Safety Checklist For Brooklyn

You’ll spend most of your time in your living room, so it may be the most reasonable place to improve your home safety. Electronics, like your TV or video games, typically are located in your living room, making it a tempting room for burglars. Begin with hanging a motion detector or indoor security camera by the doorway, then try the following ideas:

Motion Detectors: By hanging motion sensors, you’ll hear a loud noise if they detect suspicious movement within your living room. Look for motion sensors that ignore pet movements or you’ll have your sirens go off every time your cat comes in for a drink of water.
Indoor Security Camera: An indoor security camera offers an eye on your family room. View constant feeds of your room so you can know what’s happening without leaving your bed. Or speak with your kids in the room using the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Cord Maintenance: Protect those electronics and stop overburdening your outlets with a surge protector. For extra energy-efficiency, install a smart plug with anti-surge functionality included.
Furniture Bolted To The Wall: If you have curious kids, you’ll need to bolt your bookshelves and entertainment center to your wall. This is especially important if your living room has rugs or carpet that might make objects extra unstable.
Enhanced Locks For Sliding Glass Doors: If your living room uses a glass door that leads to a deck, patio, or screened-in porch, you already can see that the door lock is pretty worthless. Install an enhanced lock, like a bottom bar or small locks that secures the door to the bottom and top of the door frame.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Brooklyn

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

Fire Extinguisher: Fire can come from from an overfilled frying pan or a towel that’s too close to a burner. Always have a fire extinguisher at the ready for any kitchen emergencies.
Circuit Interrupter Box On Every Outlet: A GFCI outlet should be standard anywhere they’re by running water to ward off an electric shock. That includes the plugs close to your kitchen counter and sink. Since the late ‘80s, it’s been standard to have one circuit interrupter outlet per circuit. But for simplicity’s sake, try to have a single GFCI for every outlet.

Monitored CO Detector: A CO detector is needed in spaces that have gas for the stove and oven. If your gas burners malfunction, the CO detector will cause a high-decibel noise and contact your monitoring professional.
Clorox Wipes Or Spray: The biggest safety issue in the kitchen is actually bacteria and cross-contamination that comes with blood from meat and dairy. Always have antiviral wipes or a bleach spray to clean your surfaces after making a meal.
Refrigerator Alarm: The items in your fridge should stay at a chilly temperature to stay healthy to consume. If you leave the refrigerator door open too long, then an alarm beep will tell you to check the seal. Some fridges already have a pre-installed alarm, some won’t, and you’ll have to buy a refrigerator alarm from the store.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Brooklyn

Just because you may not have a lot of room in your bathroom, you will still have safety concerns. From flood detectors to anti-surge outlets, here are a few safety ideas for your bathroom:

Flood Sensors: A leaking toilet or shower can cause a whole lot of destruction. Discover water problems early with a flood detector and save yourself from reflooring the entire bathroom.
No-slip Shower Mats: A fall in the bathroom can be painful, causing bumps, gashed heads, or broken bones. Make sure you prevent these problems with a non-slip bathroom mat for while you towel off.

Textured Bathtub Stickies: Likewise, a bathtub can be a slick surface to stand in. It’s a good idea that each has some no-slip stickies so your feet have a textured patch for stability.

Medicine Door Lock: If you have little children or a family member with memory complications, you have to take additional care regarding prescribed medicine. Secure your prescriptions by getting a medicine cabinet with a latch that locks.

GFCI Circuits: While installing better outlets in the kitchen, you should also put in a surge protecting GFCI outlet on every bathroom outlet. This will cut the electric current if water enters the outlet or they experience an unusual spike from a hair dryer or curling iron.

Children’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Brooklyn

A child’s bedroom should pair safety with accessibility. If their window treatments or other things are safe but hard to use, then your kids may perform dangerous activities -- like shimmying up a chest of drawers -- to use them. Here are 5 simple, and safe, ideas:

Cordless Window Coverings: Safety professionals have identified corded window treatments an unsuspecting hazard for kids and pets. Install motorized treatments that you can easily control with a remote control. Or go state-of-the-art and connect your motorized coverings to your ADT smart hub so they rise on a schedule at dawn, and lower at bedtime for added darkness.

Tableside Security Camera: A camera sitting on your child’s desk or dresser can act just like a high tech baby monitor that you can see with a mobile device. And when they need you, they can hit the 2-way talk feature on the camera.

Outlet Covers: While every outlet should use protective covers on them when you have young children, this is especially needed in their bedroom. It’s the one place in your home where your toddler will most likely play alone without constant additional supervision.

Window Safety Ladder: If you have bedrooms on an upper floor, then you should install a window safety ladder. These will help your children leave the house in case the stairway or lower levels are on fire. Just remember to rehearse how to use them a few times a year.

Toy Box Or Low Bookshelves: It’s interesting to view a toy box as a safety component, but you’ll see the light if you’ve ever tramped on a Lego in your socked feet. A clutter-free floor means a quick way out if there’s an emergency.

Main Bedroom Safety Checklist For Brooklyn

The bedroom should be a refuge, so let your safety devices make life easier if you experience an emergency event. After all, being jerked awake by a wailing alarm can be disorienting.

Smart Hub Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your dresser gives you a sense of what’s happening without getting out of bed. You could alternatively turn on your ADT smartphone app. However, the touchscreen is often better to use when you’re bleary-eyed and confused.

Phone Charging Station: We use our smartphones for so much now alarm clocks, web browsers, social media, and maybe even phones. But, a depleted cell will cut us off from the outside world if something goes wrong. To keep it nice and ready, a an easy-to-use charging station is an important part of your nightstand.

Smart Lights Or Nightlights: A plug-in light can be a beacon when you’re jolted awake from an alarm or unexpected sounds. If you have trouble falling asleep with a small nightlight, put in a smart bulb in your fixtures. Then you can get light simply with a push of a button or voice direction.
Fireproof Safe: Store your vital papers like birth certificates, passports, or banking information in a fireproof safe. This can be a large one that sits in a corner or a smaller handheld lockbox that you can carry as you escape during an emergency event.

Heat Sensor: The problem with a master bedroom is that they might be too warm or be cold since they are located far away from the thermostat. A heat sensor will communicate to your smart thermostat so you should have a comfortable, relaxing sleep at a wonderful temperature.

Basement/Garage Safety Checklist For Brooklyn

Most safety problems in the basement or garage have to do with your pipes or heating system. Discovering issues early can stave away bigger emergencies in the future. So, as you take a look around your basement or garage, take note of these crucial items:

Water Sensor Or Sump Pump Alarm: Putting a flood alarm next to your water heater and sump pump can prevent you from finding a pond when you go into your garage or basement. Do you really want to lose your night getting rid of standing water?

CO Detector: It’s beneficial to hang a carbon monoxide alarm in an area where a natural gas leak can spring up. If you use gas heat, you’ll want to install a detector in the same room as your inbound pipes.
Wireless Water Shutoff Valve: If your flood sensor finds a hot water heater leak or a burst pipe, then you need to cap the main water line at once. With a wireless shutoff valve, you can block water flow from any mobile device. That’s perfect when you’re on vacation and see an emergency leak notification on your mobile device.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage up brings about all sorts of headaches. You can lose a bunch of heat through that open door, and all sorts of animals or thieves can just saunder in. A remote sensor will alert you to a forgotten garage door and lets you lower it remotely.
Temperature Sensor: A temperature sensor in your basement or garage is a definite if you wonder about your pipes freezing. The heat in these rooms can be surprisingly different than your main rooms of the house, so you may want to keep a closer eye on them by using the ADT mobile app.

Home Perimeter Safety Checklist for Brooklyn

Your foliage, driveway, and front porch are just as imperative to secure as the inside of your home. Use this checklist to defend your perimeter:

Doorbell Security Camera: See who’s arrived at the door before you open it and talk to visitors. View deliveries and record video clips if they vanish off the step.

Outdoor Security Camera: You can install outdoor security cameras to guard against unusual activity in your back yard. These security cameras are nice in places where you may not have a window installed -- like around a cellar or by the garage door.

Low Shrubs: High foliage can create some serenity, but they also hinder you seeing into the outside. Don’t offer potential intruders an area to hide. Plus, tall bushes or greenery too close to your structure can clog gutters and invite ants and termites.
ADT Signage: One of the biggest deterrents for a break-in is advertising to would-be burglars that you have a state-of-the-art ADT security system. An ADT sign by the main walk and a window decal will show ne'er-do-wells that they should keep walking to an unprotected target.

Motion Activated Outside Lights: Light is the biggest deterrent to those who skulk in the dark. Motion-activated lights on your deck, patio, or garage can frighten lurkers away. Flood lights also help you work the locks when you arrive back home late after work.

Call Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help You With Your Home Safety Checklist for Brooklyn

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t help you with each household item on your Brooklyn home safety checklist, we can bring you a state-of-the-art security system. With alarms, security cameras, and home automation, we can install the best system for your house’s needs. Simply phone (212) 553-6593 for more information or complete the form below. Or customize your own ADT system with our Security System Designer.