Quick home improvement tips to make your home safer and more ...

It?s always been said that ?a man?s home is his castle.? The question is, though, ?How safe and secure is YOUR castle?? Is it really as safe and secure as you think it may be? With statistics showing that a burglary happens in the United States every eight seconds, how secure do you really think your home is? Not only that, but there can be safety hazards lurking around your home too. Safety hazards cause an estimated four hundred thousand house fires every year!

Quick home improvement tips to make your home safer and more secure

In light of those facts, here are some valuable, quick home improvement tips that can help make your home safer and more secure for you and your family:

Tip 1

Often, people leave a spare house key under their door mats in case they get locked out, or to let their kids in after school. The problem with this practice is that thieves can easily find and use that same key as well! In order to alleviate this problem, find a different place to leave a spare key at. Be creative and find a place that potential thieves won?t think to look! Here is a quick idea: Dig a small hole in your flower bed. Wrap the spare key in a plastic, airtight bag and bury it. Place a rock or decorative mulch on top of the spot to camouflage it.

Tip 2

Are you moving into a new home? Be sure to get the keys from the previous owners, and don?t forget to install new door locks. You have no idea of knowing who the previous owners gave house keys to, so protect yourself and your family, and make your new home safer and more secure by getting new keys and door locks.

Tip 3

Never leave valuables out in the open where they can be seen and ultimately stolen. Don?t leave large sums of money or expensive jewelry lying around the house. Locked or not, thieves can and do break in to steal items, especially expensive items that are left out in the open. Consider installing a fireproof safe in your home so you can store your valuables in there. They are not difficult to install, and they are usually quite secure.

Tip 4

Here is another statistic that might surprise you: according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an estimated sixteen million homes have smoke detectors that don?t work. If this describes your home, you should check the batteries in your smoke detectors and make sure the detectors work properly. If you don?t have smoke detectors in your home, you should purchase some and install them today. They are not expensive, and installation only takes a few minutes.

Tip 5

Another improvement you can make to your home is to install carbon monoxide monitors. These are especially necessary in the cold weather seasons when furnaces are running and creating carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, toxic gas that is normally piped out of your home. But, it can leak into the house, creating a potentially fatal situation for you and your family. A carbon monoxide monitor can alert you if it detects that any of this gas has leaked into your home. They are easy to install and only take a few minutes.

Tip 6

Periodically you should inspect the exterior doors and windows of your home. Make sure that all of the locks and latches work properly. If there are any broken window latches or locks, replace them immediately for the best security. For maximum security protection, good quality deadbolt locks are recommended in addition to regular doorknob locks. You install them in no time by following the manufacturer?s instructions.

Tip 7

If you have small children in your home, it would be a good idea to install childproof latches on your lower cupboard doors. This protects your children from getting into poisons that can make them sick, or worse.

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