Home Safety Checklist For Indianapolis

Being safe and secure in your residence should be your topmost responsibility. But are you forgetting some big safety components? Use this home safety checklist for Indianapolis and see where your home can use an update.

This guide starts with some whole-home safety items, and then we whittle it down on a room level. Then, contact (317) 268-5461 or complete the form below to talk to a security professional.

Essential Home Safety Checklist for Indianapolis

While you may want to use a room-to-room process for home safety in Indianapolis, there are a few items that work for the whole-house approach. These components can sync with one another through a touchscreen hub, and often can work off other components. You can also control all your home safety equipment with a mobile app, like ADT Control:

Monitored Security System: All your doors and windows should have a sensor that notifies you to forced entry. After your alarm goes off, your monitoring center answers the alert and quickly contacts emergency personnel.

Smart Bulbs For Most Rooms: Sure, you can schedule your smart lighting so your house is more energy-efficient. But smart lights can also allow you to keep safe throughout an emergency. Make your downstairs lights flip on when an alarm trips to shoo off robbers or light the way out to a secure area.

Smart Thermostat: Like your smart lights, a smart thermostat in Indianapolis can save you between 10%-15% in utility spending. It also can flip on the exhaust fan during a fire.

Monitored Fire Alarms: It’s code that you should have a fire detector on every level of your house. You can increase your fire preparedness by hanging a monitored fire alarm that looks for unusual smoke and heat, and alerts your 24-hour monitoring team when it detects a fire.

Smart Locks: Every entryway that uses a keyed lock can use a smart door lock. Now you may preset key codes to each family member and get texts to your mobile device when they are used. Your locks can even automatically turn off, letting you quickly flee the house if you have a fire or dangerous situation.

Family Room/Living Room Safety Checklist For Indianapolis

You’ll spend a lot of time in the living room, so it can be the perfect room to improve your home safety. Popular items, like a TV or video games, typically sit in your family room, making it a tempting area for burglars. Begin with placing a motion sensor or indoor camera by the doorway, then continue on with some of these safety protocols:

Motion Sensors: By installing motion sensors, you’ll get a high-decibel siren anytime they sense suspicious motion within your living room. Look for motion sensors that ignore a dog or cat or you’ll see an alert every time your dog comes in for a drink of water.
Indoor Security Camera: An indoor security camera offers an eye on your living room. View constant feeds of everything so you can know what’s going on from the mobile app. Or chat with your family in the room with the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Outlet Maintenance: Safeguard those electronics and quit overtaxing your outlets with a surge protector. For additional convenience, install a smart plug with anti-surge functionality in the unit.
Entertainment Center Bolted 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 crucial if your living room uses carpet that might make heavy objects extra unstable.
Special Locks For Glass Doors: If your family room uses a glass door that leads to a patio, deck, or porch, you know that the lock is pretty thin. Install an enhanced lock, like a bottom bar or small locks that secures the door to the top and bottom of the opening.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For Indianapolis

The kitchen has room for items that should provide safety to your house. Most of these items are also a snap to add and should be purchased from the grocery store:

Fire Extinguisher: A fire can happen from an unwatched pot or a faulty burner. Always have a fire extinguisher at hand for any stove or oven mishaps.
Circuit Interrupter Box On Each Outlet: A circuit interrupter outlet should be standard on outlets where there’s nearby water to ward off an electric shock. That means the plug outlets by your kitchen counter and sink. Since 1987, it’s been standard to have one GFCI per dedicated circuit. But all your plugs will go dead if one outlet senses a surge, so try to use a separate GFCI on each outlet.

Monitored CO Detector: A CO detector is needed in spaces that employ natural gas for the stove and oven. If your gas lines leak, the CO detector will cause a loud siren and contact your monitoring center.
Disinfectant Wipes Or Spray: The most overlooked safety issue in the kitchen is actually bacteria and protein that comes with uncooked meat and other foods. Always keep antiviral wipes or a bleach spray to sanitize your area before and after preparing food.
Freezer and Refrigerator Alarm: The items in the fridge need to remain at a constant temperature to be ready to use. If you leave the fridge or freezer door ajar, then a constant beep will let you know so you can close the door. Some appliances already have this installed, some don’t, and you’ll have to get an external alarm from online.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For Indianapolis

Just because you don’t a lot of space in your bathroom, you will still have safety issues. From water problems to anti-surge outlets, here are a few safety tips for your bathroom:

Flood Sensors: A leaking toilet or shower can cause an expensive amount of damage. Find water problems early with a flood detector and save yourself from reflooring the entire bathroom.
Textured Bath Mats: A fall in the bathroom can be painful, causing bumps, sore joints, or broken bones. Or avoid these hazards with a no-slip bath mat for your wet feet.

No-slip Bathtub Stickers: Likewise, a bathtub can be a slick area to be on. Make sure each bathtub has some textured stickers so your feet have a textured patch for stability.

Medicine Door Lock: If you have curious toddlers or a family member with memory difficulties, you should take extra care regarding prescription medicine. Secure your bottles by getting a medicine cabinet with a latch that locks.

Circuit Interrupter Outlet: Just like the kitchen, you need to also put in a safer GFCI outlet on every bathroom receptacle. These will stop the flow of the electric current if water splashes on them or you have a sudden jolt from an electric razor or hair dryer.

Child’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For Indianapolis

A child’s bedroom should pair safety with accessibility. If their window treatments or other items are safe but difficult to manage, then your kids may perform dangerous methods -- like shimmying up a bookshelf -- to open them. Here are some straightforward, yet safe, ideas:

No Cord Window Coverings: Safety professionals have identified window treatment cords an unsuspecting hazard for kids and pets. Put in motorized shades that kids can easily manage through a remote control. Or go state-of-the-art and link your shades to your security system so they open on a schedule when the sun comes up, and lower in the evening for added darkness.

Tableside Security Camera: A camera sitting on your toddler’s dresser can double as an HD baby monitor that you can see with a smartphone. And when they need your help, they can hit the 2-way talk feature included on the camera.

Outlet Plug Covers: While each outlet should have covers on them when you have little children, this is doubly urgent in their bedroom. It’s the one room in your home where your children will most likely hang out solo without additional supervision.

Window Fire Ladder: If you use bedrooms on above the first story, then you need to install a window escape ladder. These should let a young one escape when the hallway or downstairs are blocked off with fire. Make sure to rehearse how to employ them at least twice a year.

Toy Chest Or Low Shelves: It’s weird to look at a toy chest as a safety item, but you’ll get it if you’ve ever walked on a Lego in your socked feet. A clutter-free floor means a quick retreat during a fire or break-in.

Master Bedroom Safety Checklist For Indianapolis

Your master bedroom should be a refuge, so let your safety devices make you more responsive when you experience an emergency event. After all, being startled awake by a loud alarm can be quite a shock.

Security System Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your bedside table lets you see what’s what that noise was without getting out of bed. You could alternatively use your ADT phone app. However, the HD touchscreen can be better to use when you’re bleary-eyed and confused.

Phone Charging Station: We use our cell phones for so much now alarm clocks, internet searches, social media, and maybe even phones. However, a dead device will cut us off from the outside world if during an emergency. So, a an easy-to-use charging station is should be used nightly.

Nightlight/Smart Lights: A plug-in light helps ground you when you’re bolted awake from an alarm or unexpected sounds. If you won’t drift off to sleep with an outlet light, install smart lights in your bedroom and hall. Then you can control light on-demand with a push of a button or vocal command.
Fireproof Lockbox: Stash your important documents like social security cards, passports, or a spare checkbook in a fireproof lockbox. Your lockbox can be a large one that sits out of the way or a slender portable safe that you can grab as you escape during an emergency event.

Heat Sensor: The issue with a master bedroom is that they can feel too stuffy or be frigid since they sit far away from the thermostat. A heat sensor will talk to your smart thermostat so you will have a nice, relaxing sleep at the perfect climate.

Basement/Garage Safety Checklist For Indianapolis

Most safety problems in the garage or basement are with your water or HVAC system. Discovering issues early can prevent bigger emergencies later on. So, as you walk around your garage or basement, take note of these crucial items:

Flood Detector Or Sump Pump Alarm: Placing a flood alarm by your water heater or sump pump can save you from wading into a pond when you step into your garage or basement. The last you need is to waste the weekend drying your floor and sorting through all those soggy boxes.

Carbon Monoxide Alarm: It’s smart to install a carbon monoxide detector in areas where a CO leak can occur. If you use gas heat, try to put an alarm in the same room as your unit.
Remote Water Shutoff Valve: If your flood detector detects a plumbing leak or a busted pipe, then you will have to cut off the main water line immediately. With a remote shutoff valve, you can stop water flow from anywhere in the world. That’s helpful when you’re visiting relatives and get a flood sensor notification on your mobile device.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage up causes all sorts of issues. You can lose HVAC energy through that gaping hole, and all sorts of animals or lurkers can just saunder in. A sensor will alert you to a neglected garage door and lets you close it with your phone.
Heat Sensor: A heat alarm in your garage or basement is essential if you worry about freezing pipes. The temperature in these rooms can be surprisingly different than the main part of the home, so you will need to have a close look on them by using the ADT mobile app.

Home Perimeter Safety Checklist for Indianapolis

Your yard, drive, and front walk are just as imperative to defend as the inside of your house. Try the items on this checklist to defend your perimeter:

Doorbell Camera: See who’s at the door before you answer it and chat with visitors. View packages and record video clips if they are stolen.

Outdoor Camera: You can hang outdoor cameras to alert you to suspicious movement in your yard. These cameras come in handy in places where you may not have a view -- like a side yard or by the driveway.

Window Height Bushes: High foliage can offer some privacy, but they also obscure you seeing into the yard and curb. Don’t provide potential burglars a dark shadow to hide. Plus, tall shrubs or trees against your home can obstruct gutters and bring in bugs.
ADT Signage: One of the largest disincentives for a break-in is telling would-be intruders that you own a state-of-the-art security system. An ADT yard sign by the front door and a window cling will alert lurkers that they should shove off to an unprotected score.

Motion Activated Outside Lights: Light is the largest obstacle to people who sneak around in the shadows. Motion-activated lighting on your deck, porch, or garage can shoo possible intruders away. They also help you see the walk when you come to the house late after work.

Call Secure24 Alarm Systems To Help Complete Your Home Safety Checklist for Indianapolis

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t deliver every item on your Indianapolis home safety checklist, we can offer a powerful home security system. With easy-to-use devices and ADT monitoring, we can install the ideal system for your home’s needs. Just contact (317) 268-5461 for more information or send in the form below. Or customize your own ADT system with our Security System Designer.