How to Protect Your New Home from Common Hazards

Moving into a new home is exciting, but it can also be frightening too, especially if you’re moving into a neighborhood you’ve never lived before. In the end, it doesn’t really matter where you’re moving, as long as you and your family are safe, so you need to do whatever you can to protect them and your new home against all sorts of danger. Flood, fire, burglary, and environmental disasters are just some of the things you need to look out for, so here are ways to protect your home against these common hazards.

Burglary

Most people are unaware of this issue, but the fact is that thieves are more than interested in robbing homes of people who have just moved into their neighborhood. The reason for this is quite simple – they’re the ones who know the area better than you do, and are therefore aware of things you know nothing about. Professional thieves might know how to access your home and get out of it as fast as possible, so they could easily check your home out even before you actually move in.

In order to protect your home against intruders, you might want to look into professional surveillance systems and install one of these at your home. You could probably do this on your own, or just hire someone with more experience, and you’ll feel safer and better straight away. In the end, the thieves will probably notice your security cameras as well, and that might prevent them from even thinking about breaking into your home.

Flood

This is another common problem that might be coming your way, and unless you’ve taken all the necessary precautions and know what you need to do, you could easily suffer major damage from flooding. Of course, this doesn’t have to be your fault, but your home will be destroyed, and repairing the damage might be more expensive than you can imagine. So, be careful and try to stay one step ahead.

Monitoring your water valves and maintaining all your equipment is one of the ways to stay safe, so don’t be afraid to invest some money and time into regular check-ups. Also, look into the water flow around your home and examine the ground – if you notice grading or slopes, react immediately and regulate the water flow before it’s too late. In the end, make sure your gutters and drains are always clean, your appliances are elevated, and your sockets are a foot above the ground, just in case something bad happens while you’re not at home.

Fire

Most homeowners are unaware of how dangerous fire can be, and they always think this isn’t something they need to worry about, which is why they’re usually unprepared to face it. But, if you know what to do and how to protect your home against fire, you have nothing to worry about – and even if something happens, you can always try to put out a small fire on your own using a fire extinguisher, as well as call the fire department and let them do the rest.

Fires usually occur in the kitchen, which is why this is the area you need to pay special attention to. Cleaning your oven after cooking, making sure there are no grease stains, and turning your stove off after you’re done using it are just some of the things you need to be doing. Also, think about installing one of those helpful fire ducts that will remove the smoke from your kitchen, and minimize the chance of fire      even more that way.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Any kind of poisoning is dangerous, but it seems that carbon monoxide poisoning is among the worst scenarios in the world, causing headaches, dizziness, vomiting, falls, lots of serious injuries, and even death. That’s why you need to do whatever you can to minimize the risk of CO poisoning in your home, especially if you have kids who can’t protect themselves on their own.

The ways to do that is by installing a CO detector and monitoring the level of carbon monoxide in your home. In case something bad happens, you should evacuate your home immediately, without wasting time at all. Also, be sure to maintain all appliances that use gas, as well as your water heater and your HVAC system, and you’ll minimize the chances for poisoning. In the end, talk to your doctor from time to time and get checked for poisoning at least once a year – you can never know if something has happened while you were sleeping, for instance, and can never really be too sure.

 

Protecting your home against hazards is nobody’s favorite thing in the world, but you still need to do this if you want to keep your family safe, so explore these ideas, and start using them right away.