Home Safety Checklist For McAllen

Keeping safe in your residence should be your largest responsibility. But are you overlooking some key safety items? Take this home safety checklist for McAllen and discover where your home needs some work.

We give you some whole-home safety ideas, and then we break it down room-by-room. Then, call (956) 291-4643 or fill out the form below to speak to a security expert.

General Home Safety Checklist for McAllen

While you may want to employ a room-by-room approach to home safety, there are a few items that work for multiple rooms. These devices can link with one another through a wireless hub, and can even work off one another. You can also control each of your home safety equipment through a mobile app, such as ADT Control:

Monitored Security System: Each one of your entryways should use a sensor that warns you and your family to forced entry. When your alarm trips, your monitoring expert picks up the alert and immediately calls a first responder.

Smart Lights For Most Rooms: Sure, you can program your smart lighting to make your home more energy-efficient. But smart lights can also help you stay safe in an emergency. Have your lights flip on when a sensor goes off to shoo off intruders or light your way to a safe location.

Smart Thermostat: Like your smart lights, a smart thermostat in McAllen could save you 10%-15% in utility spending. But it also can flip on an exhaust fan if you have a fire.

Monitored Fire Alarms: At the very least, you have a smoke detector on every level of your house. You can improve your fire readiness by hanging a monitored fire alarm that senses unusual smoke and heat, and notifies your 24/7 monitoring agents when it detects a fire.

Smart Door Locks: Every door that utilizes a deadbolt can upgrade to a smart lock. Now you can program codes to family and friends and receive notifications to your phone when your locks are activated. Your doors can even automatically turn off, helping you to quickly get out during a fire or dangerous situation.

Family Room Safety Checklist For McAllen

You’ll hang out most in your family room, so it may be the best room to kick off your home safety makeover. Electronics, like your TV or video games, probably reside in your living room, making it a tempting room for thieves. Begin with installing a motion detector or indoor camera in there, then continue on with all these ideas:

Motion Sensors: By installing motion detectors, you’ll have a high-decibel siren anytime they detect unusual motion in your family room. Look for motion detectors that ignore pet movements or you’ll see an alert each time your dog roams by for a drink of water.
Indoor Security Camera: An indoor security camera gives you a constant watch on your family room. View constant feeds of your room so you can know what’s happening without leaving your bed. Or talk with family members when they arrive home from playing using the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Outlet Maintenance: Safeguard those electronics and stop overtaxing your electric system with a surge protector. For added comfort, set up a smart plug with anti-surge functionality included.
Entertainment Center Secured To The Wall: If you have babies or toddlers, you’ll want to attach your entertainment center or other heavy furniture to a wall. This is extra important if your living room has carpet that can make heavy objects extra unbalanced.
Special Locks For Sliding Glass Doors: If your family room has a glass door that opens to a backyard, deck, or outside porch, you know that the lock is usually flimsy. Install a special lock, like a cross bar or locks that are located on the top and bottom of the opening.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For McAllen

Your kitchen has many items that should bring comfort and safety to your house. Many of these items should be a snap to add and should be purchased from the Target or Walmart:

Fire Extinguisher: Fire can happen from an overfilled pot or a towel that’s too close to a burner. Always store a fire extinguisher at the ready for any kitchen mishaps.
Circuit Interrupter Box On Every Outlet: A GFCI outlet should be installed everywhere there’s nearby water to ward off electrocution. That includes the outlets close to your kitchen counter and sink. Since the late ‘80s, it’s been code to have one GFCI per dedicated circuit. But for simplicity’s sake, try to install an unchained GFCI per outlet.

Monitored Carbon Monoxide Detector: A carbon monoxide detector is needed in kitchens that have natural gas for the oven and stove. If your gas burners malfunction, the CO detector will play a loud, buzzing noise and ping your monitoring expert.
Disinfectant Wipes Or Spray: The largest safety hazard in the kitchen is the invisible bacteria and protein from raw meat and dairy. Always keep cleaning wipes or spray to clean your surfaces after making a meal.
Refrigerator Alarm: The food items in the refrigerator have to remain at a cold temperature to stay healthy to eat. If you leave the freezer or refrigerator door open too long, then an alarm beep will tell you to shut it securely. Some appliances already have an alarm, others do not, and you’ll have to pick up a refrigerator alarm from online.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For McAllen

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

Flood Detectors: A leaking toilet or tub can lead to an expensive amount of damage. Get alerted early about water problems with a flood detector before they cause hundreds of dollars in ruined floors, walls, and fixtures.
Textured Bathroom Mats: A slip and fall in the bathroom can be painful, causing cuts, bruises, or trips to the hospital. You can avoid these issues with a non-slip bath mat for while you towel off.

Non-slip Bathtub Stickers: Like a tiled floor, a tub can be a slippery place to move in. It’s a good idea that every bathtub has some non-slip stickies so your toes have a bumpy patch to grip.

Medicine Door Latch: If you have curious kids or someone with memory difficulties, you should take additional precautions regarding prescribed medicine. Hide away your pills and syrups by using a medicine cabinet with a locking latch.

GFCI Circuits: Similarly to the kitchen, you will have to also put in a grounded circuit interrupter outlet on every bathroom outlet. These will cut the electricity if water enters the outlet or you have an unusual jolt from a hair dryer or curling iron.

Children’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For McAllen

A child’s bedroom should balance safety with simplicity. If their window treatments or other items are safe but difficult to use, then your children may try dangerous activities -- like shimmying up a dresser -- to touch them. Here are some straightforward, yet safe, ideas:

No Cord Window Coverings: Safety experts have long called corded window treatments an unsuspecting hazard for children and animals. Put in motorized treatments that kids can easily manage with a remote. Or even better, pair your motorized coverings to your ADT smart hub so they can raise without anyone’s help when the sun comes up, and go down in the evening for an easier sleep.

Indoor Security Camera: An indoor security camera placed on your kid’s desk can double as a high tech baby monitor that you can see from a smartphone. And when they need your help, they can use the two-way talk button that comes with the camera.

Plug Covers: While every outlet should use protective covers on them for your little children, this is doubly important in their bedroom. It’s the one room in your home where your children will most likely be solo without consistent parental supervision.

Window Escape Ladder: If you use bedrooms on the second level, then you will want to install a window escape ladder. These should help your children escape when the stairs or downstairs are on fire. Make sure to rehearse how to employ the ladder at least twice a year.

Toy Box Or Low Shelves: It’s weird to look at a toy chest as a safety device, but you’ll understand if you’ve ever tramped on a Lego in your bare feet. A uncluttered floor gives your child a quick retreat when there’s a safety or security event.

Main Bedroom Safety Checklist For McAllen

The bedroom should be a refuge, so let your safety components make life easier if you have an emergency. After all, being wrenched awake by a high-decibel alarm can be quite a shock.

Security System Touchscreen: Having a smart hub on your nightstand gives you a sense of what’s what that noise was without jumping out of bed. You could alternatively log into your ADT smartphone app but, the large touchscreen is often easier to control to use when you’re coming out of sleep and confused.

Device Charging Stand: We depend on our phones for so many things now alarm clocks, internet searches, game machines, and sometimes even phones. But, an uncharged device can cut us off from the outside world if something goes wrong. So, a charging station or cord is an essential.

Nightlights Or Voice Activated Smart Lights: A small light helps ground you when you’re bolted awake from a fire alarm or other noises. If you won’t drift off to sleep with a small nightlight, use smart bulbs in your bedroom and hall. Then you can get light anytime with a push of a button or vocal command.
Fireproof Safe: Store your essential paperwork like birth certificates, passports, or a bankbook in a fireproof lockbox. This can be a big one that camps out in your closet or a smaller handheld safe that you can snatch on your way out during a fire or break-in.

Temperature Sensor: The drawback with a master bedroom is that they can be too stuffy or be cold because they are far away from the thermostat. A heat sensor will talk to your smart thermostat so you will have a nice, restful sleep at the perfect climate.

Basement/Garage Safety Checklist For McAllen

Most safety needs in the basement or garage are with your pipes or furnace. Finding issues before they start can prevent more devastating emergencies in the future. So, as you walk around your basement or garage, take note of these safety items:

Water Sensor Or Sump Pump Alarm: Placing a flood alarm by your water heater or sump pump drain can save you from discovering a pond when you go into your basement or garage. The last you need is to waste the weekend getting rid of standing water and sorting through all those ruined boxes.

Carbon Monoxide Alarm: It’s beneficial to have a carbon monoxide alarm in areas where a gas leak can spring up. If you have a gas furnace, you should install an alarm in the same area as your inbound pipes.
Remote Water Shutoff Valve: If your flood sensor senses a hot water leak or a broken pipe, then you need to shut off the main water valve at once. With a wireless shutoff valve, you can stop water flow from anywhere in the world. That’s helpful when you’re on vacation and get an emergency leak notification on your mobile device.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage door up causes all sorts of issues. You can waste heat or air through that open door, and all sorts of animals or intruders can just wander in. A remote sensor will alert you to a forgotten garage door and lets you lower it with your phone.
Temperature Sensor: A heat alarm in your garage or basement is essential if you wonder about your pipes freezing. The temperature in these rooms can be wildly different than the rest of the house, so you will want to keep a constant look on the temperature through your mobile app.

Home Perimeter Safety Checklist for McAllen

Your landscaping, drive, and front porch are just as important to secure as the rest of your house. Use this checklist to defend your perimeter:

Doorbell Camera: See who’s at the the front step before you answer it and welcome visitors. Get a visual on deliveries and record video clips if they disappear.

Outdoor Camera: You can install outdoor cameras to guard against unusual movement in your back yard. These security cameras come in handy in places where you might not have a window -- like around a cellar or by the garage door.

Low Shrubs: Overgrown shrubs can create some solitude, but they also obscure your line of sight of the yard and curb. Don’t provide potential thieves a dark shadow to hide. Plus, tall shrubs or foliage around your home can jam up gutters and invite ants and termites.
ADT Signs And Decals: One of the biggest discouragements for home intrusion is telling aspiring intruders that you own a monitored security system. An ADT yard stick by the main walk and a window decal will alert ne'er-do-wells that they might want to move on to an easier score.

Motion Controlled Flood Light Fixtures: Light is the best deterrent to people who sneak around in the dark. Motion-activated lighting on your deck, patio, or garage can shoo possible intruders away. They also help you see the walk when you come back home on those dark, winter nights.

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

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t help you with each household item on your McAllen home safety checklist, we can bring you a powerful home security. With easy-to-use devices and ADT monitoring, we can customize the perfect system for your family’s needs. Simply phone (956) 291-4643 to get started or fill out the form below. Or customize your own ADT system with our Security System Designer.