How to Make Your House Safer for You and Your Family

A home should be a safe haven for you and your family. The outside world will stay dangerous and scary, but whenever you come back home, you ought to feel safe and be able to relax.

However, in order to achieve this, you need to make sure you eliminate all safety hazards as soon as they arise. The thing with living in a house is that you need to stay vigilant, because no one will do that for you. Of course, we don’t mean being alert all the time, but it would be helpful to prepare a checklist and make going through it a part of your regular chores.

To make this a bit easier for you, we’ve prepared our own list of tips on how to ensure your house stays safe for you and your family.

The garage door is one of the most dangerous things in your home, especially if you have kids. It should be working properly at all times and must not have any parts that are loose or rusted.

If you notice a problem with your garage door, do not hesitate to call in a professional as soon as possible. It is also a good idea to have your garage door inspected every year, just to make sure everything is okay.

Even though they’re a great convenience, cables can be a serious risk in your home. That’s why it’s important to hide them away when they’re not in use. The more organized your cables are, the less likely they are to cause an injury to your family or pets.

It might seem like common sense, but you should always have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors installed in your home – and remember to test them regularly.

No matter how safe your house is, you never know what’s around the corner. Many people don’t install these because they assume their homes are safe enough and free of fire hazards.

Moreover, smoke detectors will not function properly if they are installed too close to a heat source.

You should know where your home’s circuit breakers are located. If you ever have a power outage, you need to shut it off immediately. You should also make sure the breaker box is secured to prevent children from getting inside it.

When you work with power tools, safety should be your top priority. Make sure you always wear safety glasses when using power tools and avoid wearing loose clothing that can get caught in them. Also, check if power tools are properly grounded so that you avoid any electrical accidents. Additionally, you should have a safe storing space for them, ensuring they are out of reach for children and pets.

While we’re on the topic of safety, we also need to mention organization. A cluttered house is dangerous, and it will inevitably lead to accidents. If you keep your home organized, you’ll be able to quickly clean up after guests and do basic chores, which will reduce the probability of an accident happening. Not to mention that clutter can negatively affect your mental health.

We all use different types of chemicals at home, but we don’t always remember to put them away safely afterward. You should always store your chemicals in a secure place after using them and ensure they are kept out of reach for children. They may look like toys to kids with their colorful etiquettes, but chemicals can be extremely dangerous if misused and ingested.

These are usually the first points of entry if someone wants to break into your house. You can check all of the windows and doors in your house once per week to see if there are any cracks or holes around them. And make sure no one can easily open them – use window locks, deadbolts, and door chains. If your windows don’t have locks, you should install them as soon as possible. They are inexpensive and easy to install. If you need to repair any of your locks, you can do this yourself in just 10 minutes with just a screwdriver.

Not to mention that damaged windows won’t insulate your house correctly. It will cause drafts, which might lead to health problems and higher energy bills during colder months.

As you can see, there are many things that can go wrong in your home, and most of the time, it’s not about a serious crime or home invasion. Instead, you need to be on the lookout for small accidents that can occur at any time. Making your home safer doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money to buy expensive gadgets. The most effective way to make your house safer is by taking simple, logical steps. Use your imagination and remember about maintenance regularity.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Published in: Home advice | Author: Jennifer