Your Home Safety Checklist

We all should work to make our home the safest place on Earth. After all, it’s where our loved ones live. We want nothing more than a home where the risk of its residents getting hurt or worse is minimal to zero. Unfortunately, many homes still get hit by accidents, fire, carbon monoxide poisoning, and break-ins, among other things. That’s why it’s always a good idea to create a home safety checklist.

Many factors contribute to the occurrence of such disasters at home. Sometimes, it’s just a case of homeowners forgetting to do something to ensure home safety. For others, it’s outright neglect, like not calling a garage door repair professional immediately when it’s having problems.

For a responsible homeowner, neither forgetfulness nor negligence is an option. We should always keep an eye out for potential safety hazards for the sake of our loved ones.

To help you remember the things that will keep your home and everyone in it safe and sound, here’s a home safety checklist to serve as your guide.

Fire Safety

• Don’t leave sources of open flame like candles, fireplaces, and stoves unattended. When cooking, avoid wearing loose clothing to minimize their risk of catching fire.
• Install smoke alarms on each floor as well as in all bedrooms. You also need to test them regularly and replace the batteries when needed.
• Every floor should have a fire extinguisher, and every member of the household should know how to use it. Replace them as recommended by the manufacturer.
• Run fire drills with your family and create an escape plan that everyone has to know by heart.

Electrical Safety

• Be mindful of your use of extension cords. Never let them run across doorways or under carpets or rugs. You should also check your extension cord regularly for frayed areas, which may present an electrocution risk. If you can install electrical outlets to minimize or eliminate their use, the better.
• Check for your appliances for frayed wires as well.
• Unused electrical outlets should have plastic safety covers, especially if you have small kids.
• Do a hand-check on all electrical outlets at least once a month to see if they’re warm. It’s a sign of trouble, so call your electrician right away if any of your outlets feel warm to the touch.
• If you’re using a hairdryer, make sure it’s the only high wattage appliance plugged into the outlet. Plugging, say, an electric space heater into the same outlet at the same time could overload it and cause problems.

Carbon Monoxide Safety

• All gas, oil, coal, and other appliances inside your home that use fossil fuels should be serviced annually by a professional.
• Install carbon monoxide detectors inside your home, and make sure you replace their batteries periodically.

Child Safety

• Keep your medicines and vitamins out of reach. Store them in bottles with childproof caps for good measure.
• Unsafe products like bleach, dishwasher soap, button batteries, and even makeup should be beyond their reach.
• If you have a gun, make sure it’s stored unloaded in a safe or locker, and separate from the bullets.
• Installing safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs is recommended for those with toddlers in the house.
• Keep scissors, knives, razors, tools, and other sharp or pointed objects out of their sight and reach.
• If you have a pool, install a childproof gate and a four-sided fence around it to prevent your child from falling into it.

Home Security

• All doors should have a deadbolt lock.
• Put up motion-sensing floodlights in your backyard.
• If you have sliding glass doors, set a metal bar or pipe in the middle bottom track of its slide so it won’t open.
• Be careful where you leave your garage door remote. As much as possible, don’t leave it lying around inside your car. If you can switch to a keychain garage door remote, you can keep it on your person at all times.
• Check your garage door if it closes fully. If it doesn’t, check the lenses of the sensors for dirt, obstructions, or alignment problems. Call a garage door professional if your garage door still won’t close even when the sensors are clean, unobstructed, and perfectly aligned.
• Install a home security system.
• Never leave your key to the home under rocks, potted plans, or welcome mats. It’s better to bring the key at all times or leave it to a trusted neighbor.

These are just some of the steps you can take to keep your home safe and secure. For more measures to ensure everyone’s safety at home, feel free to look around your house and see what comes to mind.