Home Safety Checklist For San Francisco

Staying safe and secure in your residence should be your largest priority. But are you missing some key safety items? Take this home safety checklist for San Francisco and find out where your home requires some work.

We give you a few whole-home safety ideas, and then we break it down to specific room ideas. Then, you can call (415) 966-3602 or complete the form below for additional information.

General Home Safety Checklist for San Francisco

While you may want to take a room-by-room process for home safety, there are some items that work for the entire house approach. These devices can link together through a wireless hub, and oftentimes react to one another. You can also manage every one of your home safety equipment using a mobile app, like ADT Control:

Monitored Security System: Each one of your doors and windows should use a sensor that warns you to intrusion. When the alarm goes off, your monitoring agent answers the call and quickly contacts emergency personnel.

Smart Lights For Every Major Room: Sure, you can schedule your smart lights to make your house more eco-conscience. But smart lights can also help you remain safe during an emergency. Make your smart bulbs flip on when a security alarm goes off to frighten off intruders or light a path to a outside place.

Smart Thermostat: Likewise, a smart thermostat in San Francisco should save you between 10%-15% in utility costs. Also, it can flip on an exhaust fan if you have a fire.

Monitored Fire Detectors: At the very least, you have a fire detector on each level of your house. You can improve your fire preparedness by hanging a monitored fire detector that looks for unusual heat and smoke, and notifies your 24/7 monitoring team when it thinks that there’s a fire.

Smart Locks: Every door that needs a deadbolt can be made safer with a smart lock. Now you can preset numbered codes to each family member and get alerts to your phone when the locks are used. Your doors can even automatically open, letting you quickly flee the house if you have a fire or dangerous situation.

Family Room/Living Room Safety Checklist For San Francisco

You’ll spend a lot of time in the living room, so it can be the most reasonable area to start your home safety makeover. Popular items, like a TV or video game console, probably sit in your family room, making it an alluring room for thieves. Begin with hanging a motion detector or indoor security camera by the doorway, then continue on with all these ideas:

Motion Sensors: By installing motion sensors, you’ll hear a high-decibel siren anytime they sense suspicious motion in your family room. You’ll want motion detectors that aren’t set off by pet movements or you’ll get a tripped alarm every time your pet roams by for a drink of water.
Security Camera: An indoor security camera puts an eye on your family room. View constant feeds of everything so you can find out what’s happening from the mobile app. Or talk with family members in the family room using the two-way talk feature.
Surge Protector/Cord Maintenance: Protect those electronics and quit overtaxing your outlets with a surge protector. For added comfort, set up a smart plug with surge protection in the unit.
Entertainment Center Bolted To The Wall: If you have any small children, you’ll need to secure your heavy furniture and entertainment center to a wall. This is extra important if your family room has carpeting that might make objects extra unbalanced.
Enhanced Locks For Sliding Doors: If your living room has a glass door that slides out to a backyard, deck, or outside porch, you already get that the latch is pretty worthless. Install an enhanced lock, like a cross bar or locks that are located on the top and bottom of the frame.

Kitchen Safety Checklist For San Francisco

Your kitchen has plenty of items that should add comfort and safety to your home. Most of these things are also easy to add and can be purchased from the Target or Walmart:

Fire Extinguisher: A fire can happen from an overfilled frying pan or a towel that’s too close to a burner. Always store a fire extinguisher at hand for any stove or oven emergencies.
Circuit Interrupter Box On Every Outlet: A GFCI outlet should be used on outlets where they’re by water to ward off electrocution. That means the outlets around your kitchen counter and sink. Since 1987, it’s been code to have one GFCI per dedicated circuit. But for simplicity’s sake, you’re going to want to install a separate GFCI on each outlet.

Monitored CO Detector: A carbon monoxide detector is advised for the kitchen if you have a gas oven and stove. If your gas burners spring a leak, the carbon monoxide detector will emit a high-decibel sound and call your monitoring expert.
Clorox Wipes Or Spray: The most overlooked safety problem in the kitchen is the viruses, bacteria, and cross-contamination that comes with uncooked meat and other foods. Always store antiviral wipes or an antibacterial spray to clean your area when cooking.
Refrigerator Alarm: The items in the fridge need to stay at a constant temperature to stay ready to consume. If you leave the refrigerator door open too long, then a constant beep will tell you to shut it securely. Some refrigerators already have an alarm, older models don’t, and you’ll have to buy a fridge alarm from the hardware store.

Bathroom Safety Checklist For San Francisco

Just because there’s not a lot of room in your bathroom there’s still safety concerns. From water problems to electric safety, here are a few safety ideas for your bathroom:

Flood Sensors: A leaking toilet or tub can cause a whole lot of destruction. Get alerted early about pooling water with a flood detector and save hundreds to thousands of dollars from damage.
Non-slip Bathroom Mats: A slip in the bathroom can be devastating, causing pulled muscles, sore joints, or trips to the hospital. Make sure you prevent these issues with a non-slip bath mat for while you towel off.

No-slip Bathtub Stickies: Likewise, a bathtub can be a slippery place to stand in. Make sure each bathtub has some textured strips so your toes have a textured patch for stability.

Medicine Door Latch: If you have little toddlers or a family member with memory lapses, you have to take extra precautions regarding prescribed medicine. Hide away your prescriptions by getting a medicine cabinet with a locking latch.

GFCI Circuits: Similarly to the kitchen, you should also install a safer circuit interrupter outlet on every bathroom outlet. These will shut off the electric current if water splashes on them or there’s a sudden spike from a hair dryer or curling iron.

Kid’s Bedroom Safety Checklist For San Francisco

A child’s bedroom should balance safety with simplicity. If their window treatments or other items are safe but hard to use, then your child may try unsafe activities -- like climb a dresser -- to use them. Here are some easy, yet safe, ideas:

Cordless Window Treatments: Safety agencies have designated window treatment cords an unsuspecting danger for kids and pets. Install motorized blinds or shades that kids can easily manage via remote control. Or even better, pair your motorized treatments to your ADT smart hub so they can raise automatically when it’s time to get up, and lower at night for added darkness.

Tableside Security Camera: An indoor security camera sitting on your toddler’s desk or dresser can double as a high tech baby monitor that you can view from your phone. And when they need you, they can hit the two-way talk button included on the camera.

Outlet Plug Covers: While every outlet should use protective covers on them when you have little children, this is doubly needed in their bedroom. It’s the one room in your house where your toddler will most likely hang out by themselves without consistent parental supervision.

Window Escape Ladder: If you have bedrooms on above the first story, then you need to put in a window escape ladder. These can let your children escape in case the stairs or lower levels are on fire. Make sure to practice how to employ the ladder at least twice a year.

Toy Box Or Low Shelves: It’s interesting to view a toy chest as a safety item, but you’ll get it if you’ve ever stepped on an action figure in your socked feet. A clutter-free floor gives your child a quick escape if there’s a safety or security event.

Main Bedroom Safety Checklist For San Francisco

The main bedroom should be an oasis, so let your safety devices make you more responsive when you experience an emergency event. After all, being wrenched awake by a wailing alarm can be disorienting.

Smart Hub Touchscreen: Having a touchscreen on your bedside table lets you see what’s happening without leaving your bed. You could also use your ADT phone app but, the large touchscreen is often better to use when you’re yawning and confused.

Personal Charging Stand: We rely on our smartphones for almost everything now alarm clocks, news readers, games, and --legend has it-- even phones. But, a depleted phone in the middle of the night cuts us off from communications if there’s a problem. So, a charging cord or station is an essential.

Nightlights Or Voice Activated Smart Lights: A small light can calm you when you’re bolted awake from a siren or unexpected sounds. If you can’t fall asleep with an outlet light, install smart bulbs in your bedroom. Then you can have light simply with a button push or voice direction.
Fireproof Safe: Keep your vital documents like birth certificates, passports, or banking information in a fireproof safe. This can be a bigger one that sits out of the way or a smaller portable lockbox that you can grab on your way out during a fire or break-in.

Heat Sensor: The issue with bedrooms is that they can be too warm or be frigid since they sit far away from the thermostat. A temperature sensor will communicate to your smart thermostat so you can have a pleasant, peaceful sleep at just the right climate.

Garage/Basement Safety Checklist For San Francisco

Most safety issues in the basement or garage are with your water heater or furnace. Discovering issues at the source can prevent bigger disasters in the future. So, as you walk around your garage or basement, pay attention to these crucial items:

Water Detector Or Sump Pump Alarm: Installing a flood alarm in back of your water heater or sump pump drain can save you from discovering a mess when you step into your basement or garage. Do you really want to spend your weekend getting rid of standing water?

CO Detector: It’s smart to have a CO detector in a place where a CO leak can happen. If you use a gas furnace, you should put a detector in the same room as your unit.
WiFi Water Shutoff Valve: If your flood sensor detects a hot water leak or a broken pipe, then you will want to cut off the primary water line at once. With a WiFi shutoff valve, you can turn off your water flow from anywhere in the world. That’s perfect when you’re out of town and receive an emergency leak notification on your phone.
Garage Door Sensor: Leaving the garage up leads to all sorts of issues. You can waste heat or air through that large opening, and rodents or intruders can just walk in. A remote sensor will notify you about a forgotten garage door and lets you lower it remotely.
Heat Sensor: A temperature sensor in your basement or garage is essential if you wonder about freezing pipes. The heat in these rooms can be surprisingly different than the rest of the home, so you may need to keep a close look on them through the ADT mobile app.

Outside Safety Checklist for San Francisco

Your front yard, driveway, and front walk are just as important to make safe as the interior of your house. Try the items on this checklist to create a safe outside:

Doorbell Camera: See who’s knocking on the front door before you answer it and chat with guests. View deliveries and review video clips if they are taken.

Outdoor Camera: You can hang outdoor cameras to guard against suspicious lurkers in your yard. These cameras come in handy in places where you may not have a window -- like a side yard or by the garage.

Low Shrubbery: Tall shrubs can give you some serenity, but they also block your line of sight of the yard and curb. Don’t provide potential thieves a dark shadow to hide. Plus, tall bushes or foliage against your home can jam up gutters and bring in pests.
ADT Signage: One of the most popular disincentives for a thief is telling aspiring rogues that you have a state-of-the-art security system. An ADT yard sign by the main walk and a window sticker will tell ne'er-do-wells that they might want to shove off to an unprotected house.

Motion Activated Porch Light Fixtures: Light is the largest obstacle to those who sneak around in the dark. Motion-activated lighting on your porch, garage, or deck can shoo possible intruders away. They also help you work the locks when you get to the house on those dark, winter nights.

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

While Secure24 Alarm Systems can’t deliver non-security devices on your San Francisco home safety checklist, we can install a state-of-the-art home security system. With everything from alarms to thermostats, we can personalize the ideal system for your house’s needs. Simply contact (415) 966-3602 and talk to a professional or complete the form below. Or customize your own solution with our Security System Designer.