Home Safety Checklist For Wichita Falls

Being safe in your house should be your number one concern. But are you missing a few key safety components? Look over this home safety checklist for Wichita Falls and discover where your home needs an update.

This guide starts with some whole-home safety items, and then we delve down on a room level. Then, you can call (940) 217-5181 or complete the form below for additional information.

Essential Home Safety Checklist for Wichita Falls

While you should take a individual room approach to home safety in Wichita Falls, there are a few items that work for the entire house approach. These components can talk to each other through a wireless hub, and can even work off one another. You might also manage each of your home safety devices using a smartphone app, such as ADT Control:

Monitored Security System: Each one of your entryways should have a sensor that notifies you to a break-in. When your alarm goes off, your monitoring center responds to the call and calls the police or fire department.

Smart Bulbs For Every Major Room: Sure, you can schedule your smart lighting so your house is more eco-conscience. But smart lights can also help you keep safe in an emergency. Make your downstairs lights come on when an alarm triggers to frighten off burglars or illuminate your way to a safe area.

Smart Thermostat: Like your smart lights, a smart thermostat in Wichita Falls can save you 10%-15% in utility spending. But it also can start your exhaust fan during a fire.

Monitored Fire Detectors: It’s code that you will have a fire alarm on each floor. You can improve your fire readiness by installing a monitored fire detector that looks for both heat and smoke, and alerts your 24/7 monitoring team when it thinks that there’s a fire.

Smart Door Locks: Every doorway that utilizes a deadbolt can use a smart door lock. Now you may preset codes to family and friends and get texts to your phone when the locks are activated. Your smart lock can even automatically turn off, helping you to quickly flee the house when you have an emergency.

Living Room/Family Room Safety Checklist For Wichita Falls

You’ll spend most of your time in the family room, so it can be the perfect area to start making your house safer. Electronics, like a TV or video games, usually sit in your living room, making it a popular area for robbers. Start with placing a motion detector or indoor security camera in there, then take a look at all these ideas:

Motion Detectors: By hanging motion sensors, you’ll have a loud alarm anytime they sense unexpected movement within your living room. You’ll want motion sensors that ignore pets or you’ll see your sirens go off each time your dog roams by for a midnight stroll.
Indoor Camera: An indoor security camera puts a visual on your family room. Watch constant feeds of the area so you can find out what’s happening through the mobile app. Or talk with family members when they arrive back from school using the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Outlet Maintenance: Safeguard all your electronics and stop overtaxing your electric system with a surge protector. For extra convenience, set up a smart plug with a surge protector in the unit.
Furniture Secured To The Wall: If you have any small children, you’ll want to attach your entertainment center or other heavy furniture to a wall. This is especially crucial if your living room uses carpeting that can make objects extra wobbly.
Special Locks For Glass Doors: If your family room uses a sliding glass door that slides out to a backyard, deck, or screened-in porch, you probably get that the latch is fairly flimsy. Install a custom lock, like a bottom bar or small locks that bolt to the top and bottom of the opening.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Wichita Falls

Your kitchen has room for items that can provide comfort and safety to your home. Many of these items should be easy to add and should be found in the grocery store:

Fire Extinguisher: A fire can come from from an unwatched skillet or a faulty burner. Always keep a fire extinguisher in close reach for any kitchen emergencies.
GFCI Box On Every Outlet: A circuit interrupter outlet should be installed everywhere they’re by running water to lessen the chance of a deadly shock. That includes the plug outlets around your sink and kitchen counter. Since 1987, it’s been required to have one circuit interrupter outlet per dedicated circuit. But for simplicity’s sake, try to install a single GFCI for every outlet.

Monitored CO Detector: A carbon monoxide detector is recommended for kitchens that employ natural gas for the oven and stove. If your gas burners spring a leak, the carbon monoxide detector will emit a high-decibel noise and contact your monitoring center.
Clorox Wipes Or Spray: The largest safety problem in the kitchen is the invisible bacteria and cross-contamination from uncooked meat and vegetables. Always store antiviral wipes or a bleach spray to sanitize your surfaces after making a meal.
Refrigerator/Freezer Alarm: The milk, meat, and perishables in the fridge should stay at a cold temperature to stay safe to consume. If you accidently leave the freezer or refrigerator door open, then a small beep will tell you to close the door. Some refrigerators come with this installed, others do not, and you’ll have to buy a fridge alarm from the hardware store.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Wichita Falls

Just because there’s not a bunch of square footage in your bathroom, you will still have safety concerns. From flood prevention to medicine care, here are some safety tips for your bathroom:

Flood Sensors: A leaking toilet or shower can lead to an expensive amount of destruction. Find out early about leaks with a flood detector and save yourself from renovating the whole bathroom.
Non-slip Bathroom Mats: A slip and fall in the bathroom can be painful, causing pulled muscles, sore joints, or sprained ankles. Or prevent these issues with a textured bathroom mat for your wet feet.

Textured Bathtub Stickers: Likewise, a tub can be a slippery area to move in. It’s a good idea that each has some no-slip stickies so your toes have a bumpy patch to grip.

Medicine Door Latch: If you have young kids or a family member with memory lapses, you have to take additional precautions regarding prescribed medicine. Safeguard your prescriptions by installing a medicine cabinet with a locking latch.

GFCI Circuits: Just like the kitchen, you should also install a surge protecting circuit interrupter outlet on every bathroom outlet. This will stop the flow of the electric current if they ever get wet or there’s a harmful surge from a curling iron or hair dryer.

Children’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Wichita Falls

A child’s bedroom should balance safety with simplicity. If their window treatments or other things are safe but tricky to use, then your child may perform risky activities -- like climb a chest of drawers -- to touch them. Here are some easy, yet safe, ideas:

Cordless Window Treatments: Safety professionals have designated window treatment cords a hidden danger for both children and pets. Use motorized shades that you can easily manage through a remote control. Or even better, link your motorized treatments to your ADT security system so they open without anyone’s help at dawn, and lower at bedtime for added darkness.

Tableside Security Camera: An indoor security camera placed on your child’s desk can behave as a baby monitor that you can watch with a mobile device. And if they need something, they can push the two-way talk button on the camera.

Outlet Plug Covers: While every outlet should use outlet safety caps on them for your little children, this is especially urgent in a child’s bedroom. It’s the one room in your home where your toddler will most likely hang out alone without adult supervision.

Window Fire Ladder: If you have bedrooms on an upper story, then you need to have a window safety ladder. These should help a young one get out of their room in case the hallway or lower levels are blocked off with fire. Just remember to practice how to use them at least twice a year.

Toy Chest Or Low Shelves: It’s weird to view a toy box as a safety component, but you’ll see the light if you’ve ever stepped on an action figure in your socked feet. A uncluttered floor let your child have a quick escape if there’s a safety or security event.

Main Bedroom Safety Checklist For Wichita Falls

Your master bedroom should be a refuge, so let your safety devices give you peace of mind if there's an emergency event. After all, being startled awake by a wailing alarm can be quite a shock.

Smart Hub Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your bedside table helps you know what’s happening without jumping out of bed. You could alternatively turn on your ADT smartphone app but, the HD touchscreen may be easier to control to use when you’re bleary-eyed and disoriented.

Phone Charging Area: We rely on our smartphones for almost everything now alarm clocks, news readers, time wasters, and sometimes even phones. The only problem is that a dead cell will cut us off from reaching help if something goes wrong. So, a charging cord or station is an essential.

Nightlights Or Voice Activated Smart Lights: A tiny light can calm you when you’re bolted awake from an alarm or unexpected noises. If you have trouble falling asleep with a small nightlight, use smart bulbs in your fixtures. Then you can control light anytime with a mobile device or voice direction.
Fireproof Safe: Keep your essential documents like insurance cards, stock certificates, or a bankbook in a fireproof lockbox. Your lockbox can be a big one that sits out of the way or a small portable lockbox that you can snatch when you leave during an emergency event.

Heat Sensor: The problem with most bedrooms is that they tend to feel too warm or be chilly since they sit across the house from the thermostat. A heat sensor can communicate to your smart thermostat so you will have a comfortable, relaxing sleep at just the right temperature.

Garage/Basement Safety Checklist For Wichita Falls

Most safety issues in the garage or basement deal with your pipes or furnace. Discovering hazards at the source can stop more devastating 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: Placing a flood alarm next to your water heater or sump pump drain can save you from finding a lake when you step into your basement or garage. Do you really want to waste your night drying the floor?

Carbon Monoxide Alarm: It’s smart to have a carbon monoxide detector in an area where a gas leak can happen. If you have a gas furnace, you should install a detector in the same room as your inbound pipes.
Remote Water Shutoff Valve: If your water sensor detects a hot water leak or a broken pipe, then you will want to shut off the primary water valve immediately. With a WiFi shutoff valve, you can block water flow from anywhere in the world. That’s nice when you’re visiting relatives and get an emergency leak text on your mobile device.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage door open leads to all sorts of issues. You can lose heat through that large opening, and critters or lurkers can just walk in. A remote sensor will notify you about an open garage door and lets you lower it with your phone.
Heat Sensor: A temperature alarm in your basement or garage is essential if you worry about freezing pipes. The heat in these areas can be drastically different than the main part of the home, so you may want to have a close look on the temperature through your security mobile app.

Outside Safety Checklist for Wichita Falls

Your yard, drive, and front step are just as crucial to secure as the rest of your home. Try this checklist to defend your perimeter:

Doorbell Security Camera: See who’s knocking on the door before you answer it and welcome visitors. Get a visual on deliveries and look at video clips if they are stolen.

Outdoor Camera: You can hang outdoor cameras to notify you about suspicious lurkers in your yard. These cameras come in handy in places where you might not have a view -- like around a cellar or by the driveway.

Window Height Bushes: Overgrown bushes can create some solitude, but they also obscure you seeing into the yard and curb. Don’t give potential thieves a place to hide. Plus, tall bushes or foliage against your house can jam up gutters and bring in bugs.
ADT Yard Signs: One of the biggest deterrents for home intrusion is telling aspiring burglars that you have a monitored ADT security system. An ADT sign by the front door and a window decal will alert ne'er-do-wells that they might want to keep walking to an easier score.

Motion Controlled Porch Lighting: Light is the greatest enemy to people who sneak around in the unlit places. Motion-controlled lights on your deck, porch, or garage can help scare lurkers away. Lights also help you see the walk when you come to the house late after work.

Contact Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help Complete Your Home Safety Checklist for Wichita Falls

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t help you with every item on your Wichita Falls home safety checklist, we can install a state-of-the-art home security. With everything from alarms to thermostats, we can customize the best system for your home’s needs. Just contact (940) 217-5181 for more information or send in the form below. Or personalize your own solution with our Security System Designer.