Home Safety Checklist For Cedar Rapids

Staying safe and secure in your home should be your largest responsibility. But are you missing a few key safety components? Take this home safety checklist for Cedar Rapids and see where your house needs some work.

We give you five whole-home safety techniques, and then we break it down room-by-room. Then, phone (319) 214-2293 or send in the form below to speak to a security professional.

General Home Safety Checklist for Cedar Rapids

While you should use a room-by-room method for home safety, there are some things that work for the entire house approach. These components can link to each other through a smart hub, and often can respond to other components. You can also manage all your home safety devices with a smartphone app, such as ADT Control:

Monitored Home Security System: All your windows and doors should employ a sensor that notifies your family to a break-in. When the alarm trips, your monitoring center picks up the call and sends a first responder.

Smart Bulbs For Each Room: Of course, you can set your smart lighting so your home is more eco-conscience. But they can also allow you to remain safe in an emergency. Have your lights flash on when an alarm trips to frighten off robbers or illuminate the way out to a secure area.

Smart Thermostat: Likewise, a smart thermostat in Cedar Rapids can save you up to 15% in utility spending. Also, it can start the exhaust fan if you have a fire.

Monitored Smoke Detectors: At the very least, you should have a fire detector on each floor. You can improve your fire preparedness by hanging a monitored fire detector that senses both smoke and heat, and alerts your 24/7 monitoring team when it senses a fire.

Smart Lock For Every Door: Every doorway that utilizes a keyed lock can be made safer with a smart door lock. Now you can assign numbered codes to each family member and receive alerts to your mobile device when the locks are unlocked. Your locks can even automatically unlock, allowing you to quickly get out when you have a fire or dangerous situation.

Living Room/Family Room Safety Checklist For Cedar Rapids

You’ll spend a lot of time in your living room, so it’s the best room to begin your home safety optimization. Electronics, like a TV or video games, probably are located in your living room, making it a tempting room for robbers. Begin with hanging a motion detector or indoor camera in your room, then take a look at all these safety protocols:

Motion Detectors: By hanging motion sensors, you’ll hear a shrieking noise if they sense unexpected motion in your family room. You’ll want motion detectors that filter out pet movements or you’ll have an alert every time your pet comes in for a drink of water.
Indoor Security Camera: An indoor security camera gives you a constant watch on your family room. Get real-time streams of everything so you can see what’s downstairs from the mobile app. Or chat with your kids when they arrive back from school using the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Cord Maintenance: Make sure you protect those electronics and stop overtaxing your outlets with a surge protector. For additional convenience, use a smart plug with surge protection built-in.
Heavy Furniture Bolted To The Wall: If you have any small children, you’ll want to bolt your heavy furniture and entertainment center to a wall. This is especially important if your family room uses carpeting that can make furniture extra unstable.
Enhanced Locks For Glass Doors: If your living room uses a glass door that opens to a deck, patio, or outside porch, you probably know that the latch is pretty worthless. Use a special lock, like a metal bar or small locks that secures the door to the top and bottom of the door frame.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Cedar Rapids

Your kitchen has room for items that can bring comfort and safety to your home. Many of these items should be simple to add and should be purchased from the Target or Walmart:

Fire Extinguisher: A fire can spring up from an overfilled pot or a faulty burner. Always keep a fire extinguisher in close reach for any cooking emergencies.
Circuit Interrupter Box On Each Outlet: A GFCI outlet should be installed everywhere they’re close to running water to prevent an electric shock. That means the outlets around your kitchen counter and sink. Since the late ‘80s, it’s been standard to have one circuit interrupter outlet per dedicated circuit. But for simplicity’s sake, try to install a single GFCI on each outlet.

Monitored Carbon Monoxide Detector: A CO detector is advised for the kitchen if you employ natural gas for the oven and range. If your gas appliances spring a leak, the CO detector will emit a loud, buzzing siren and call your monitoring expert.
Cleaning Wipes Or Spray: The biggest safety issue in the kitchen is the viruses, bacteria, and protein from blood from meat and other foods. Always keep disinfectant wipes or spray to sanitize your surfaces after preparing food.
Refrigerator/Freezer Alarm: The items in the refrigerator need to stay at a chilly temperature to be safe to eat. If you accidently leave the freezer or refrigerator door open, then a constant beep will tell you to check the seal. Some appliances come with this installed, others don’t, and you’ll have to get a fridge alarm from the hardware store.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Cedar Rapids

Just because there’s not a bunch of square footage in your bathroom doesn’t mean that there aren’t safety hazards. From flood prevention to electric safety, here are a few safety improvements for your bathroom:

Flood Sensors: A leaking toilet or tub can cause a whole lot of destruction. Find a leaking pipe with a flood detector and save a bunch of money from water damage.
Textured Bathroom Mats: A fall in the bathroom can be painful, causing bumps, sore joints, or sprained ankles. Make sure you steer clear from these issues with a non-slip bathroom mat for after your bath or shower.

Textured Bathtub Stickies: Another water hazard, a bathtub can be a slick place to stand in. It’s a good idea that each bathtub has some non-slip strips so your feet and toes have a bumpy patch for stability.

Medicine Door Latch: If you have curious toddlers or someone with memory difficulties, you need to take additional attention regarding prescription medicine. Hide away your bottles by using a medicine cabinet with a latch that locks.

Circuit Interrupter Outlet: Just like the kitchen, you need to also use a surge protecting GFCI outlet on every bathroom outlet. These will stop the flow of the current if water enters the outlet or there’s a sudden spike from an electric razor or hair dryer.

Children’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Cedar Rapids

Your child’s bedroom should pair safety with accessibility. If their window shades or other items are safe but tricky to operate, then your child may get around the device with risky activities -- like climb a chest of drawers -- to open them. Here are 5 easy, yet safe, ideas:

No Cord Window Treatments: Safety experts have long called window treatment cords an unsuspecting danger for children and animals. Put in motorized treatments that your child can easily manage via remote control. Or better yet, pair your motorized coverings to your ADT security system so they open on a schedule when it’s time to get up, and go down at bedtime for added darkness.

Tableside Security Camera: A camera sitting on your kid’s desk or dresser can behave like a high tech baby monitor that you can view from a smartphone. And if they want your help, they can hit the intercom talk button on the camera.

Outlet Plug Covers: While every outlet should use covers on them to protect your little children, this is doubly urgent in their bedroom. It’s the one place in your home where your children will most likely be alone without parental supervision.

Window Escape Ladder: If you use bedrooms on an upper floor, then you should have a window fire ladder. These should let a young one get out of their room in case the stairs or ground floor are blocked off with fire. Make sure to go over 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 walked on an action figure in your bare feet. A clean floor gives your child a quick way out if there’s a safety or security event.

Master Bedroom Safety Checklist For Cedar Rapids

Your master bedroom should be your calm space, so let your safety items make you more responsive if you experience an emergency event. After all, being wrenched awake by a loud buzzer can be confusing.

Home Security Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your bedside table gives you a sense of what’s happening without getting out of bed. You could always log into your ADT mobile app but, the large touchscreen can be easier to use to use when you’re coming out of sleep and disoriented.

Phone Charging Station: We depend on our cell phones for so many things now alarms, news readers, time wasters, and sometimes even phones. The only problem is that an uncharged phone can cut us off from the outside world if something goes wrong. To keep it nice and ready, a charging cord or station is an important part of your nightstand.

Nightlights Or Voice Activated Smart Lights: A plug-in light can calm you when you’re jolted awake from a siren or other noises. If you can’t fall asleep with an outlet light, use smart bulbs in your fixtures. Then you can have light anytime with a push of a button or vocal command.
Fireproof Lockbox: Store your vital paperwork like social security cards, medical information, or banking information in a fireproof lockbox. This can be a bigger one that sits in your closet or a slender portable safe that you can grab on your way out during a fire or other emergency.

Heat Sensor: The issue with most bedrooms is that they tend to be too stuffy or be frigid because they are far from the thermostat. A temperature sensor will talk to your smart thermostat so you should have a nice, relaxing sleep at just the right climate.

Garage/Basement Safety Checklist For Cedar Rapids

Most safety issues in the garage or basement are with your pipes or HVAC system. Discovering hazards before they start can stop more devastating problems in the future. So, as you look around your storage areas, pay attention to these crucial items:

Flood Sensor Or Sump Pump Alarm: Installing a flood sensor next to your water heater and sump pump can prevent you from finding a pond when you go into your garage or basement. The last you need is to lose the weekend bailing out water and going through all those soggy boxes.

Carbon Monoxide Alarm: It’s nice to have a CO detector in a place where a natural gas leak can occur. If you have a gas furnace, try to put a detector in the same room as your HVAC unit.
WiFi Water Shutoff Valve: If your flood alarm detects a hot water heater leak or a burst pipe, then you will want to shut off the primary water valve 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 notification on your phone.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage door open leads to all types of issues. You can waste heat through that open door, and all sorts of animals or thieves can just saunder in. A sensor will text you about an open garage door and allow you to close it with your phone.
Temperature Sensor: A heat sensor in your basement or garage is a definite if you wonder about frozen pipes. The heat in these rooms can be drastically different than the main part of the house, so you will need to have a closer eye on the temp with the ADT mobile app.

Outside Safety Checklist for Cedar Rapids

Your front yard, driveway, and front walk are just as important to defend as the rest of your house. Try this checklist to make your outside safe:

Doorbell Security Camera: See who’s at the the front step before you open it and chat with guests. View deliveries and look at video clips if they vanish off the step.

Outdoor Camera: You can hang outdoor security cameras to notify you about late night activity in your yard. These devices are especially useful in places where you might not have a window installed -- like a side yard or by the driveway.

Window Height Shrubbery: Tall bushes can give you some serenity, but they also block you seeing into the yard. Don’t give potential burglars an area to hide. Plus, tall bushes, shrubs or foliage around your home can obstruct gutters and invite pests.
ADT Signage: One of the most popular disincentives for a break-in is telling aspiring burglars that you have a state-of-the-art security system. An ADT sign by the main walk and a window sticker will show ne'er-do-wells that they might want to shove off to an less prepared score.

Motion Activated Flood Lights: Light is the largest deterrent to those who skulk in the unlit places. Motion-triggered flood lights on your porch, garage, or deck can frighten possible intruders away. Lights also help you work the locks when you get home late at night.

Call Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help You Finish Your Home Safety Checklist for Cedar Rapids

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t install each household item on your Cedar Rapids home safety checklist, we can offer a customized home security. With alarms, security cameras, and home automation, we can personalize the ideal system for your home’s needs. Simply phone (319) 214-2293 for more information or fill out the form below. Or customize your own system with our Security System Designer.