When was the last time you thought about home safety? Don’t worry if it’s been a while – or you never have – because you’re not alone; most of the time, we’ll only really think about it when something goes wrong. If there’s been a near-miss of some kind, a break-in at a neighbour’s house, or just a reminder from your insurance company, for example, you can suddenly realise that you’ve not got a lot of safety measures in place.
The good news is, you can fix this issue pretty easily most of the time, and with that in mind, keep reading to find out more about what homeowners should think about when improving home safety.
How Do You Move Around The House?
Before you add anything new, it’s best to think about how you move around your home, and what you do in which room. For example, knowing which doors you use the most, and which areas are busiest (and which are quieter) can help you work out what needs to be installed where. The point is, safety is always going to work best when it just fits naturally into your home and helps you keep to your routines, but just keep to them in a better way.
In other words, a safety feature that gets in the way or feels awkward is going to get ignored, and that totally defeats the point of having it in the first place.
Think About More Than Just Locks And Alarms
When people think about home safety, they’ll usually think about things like alarm systems and good, strong locks. And yes, those are important, and yes, you probably should have them in your home, but they’re not everything – they can be part of the overall improvements you make to keep your home secure.
Other things you might want to have are fire safety elements, clear exits, lighting, visibility, and so on – they all matter just as much, and it can all work together to give you the most safe and secure home you can ask for.
Fire Safety Can’t Be Forgotten
Fire safety is something that can easily be forgotten, especially when you’ve never had to deal with a fire before, and you’re focusing more on the locks and alarms that we mentioned above. But the fact is, the materials used, the layout, and various other things can all play a role in how a fire might spread. That’s why some homeowners want to install features like glass fire doors, for example, because they’ll help to contain the fire while still letting light in and looking good while they do it.
It’s that fine balance between safety and comfort that can often make something work for the long term, so it’s definitely worth thinking about to get it right.
Don’t Forget About Everyday Risks
Something that’s vital to remember is that home safety doesn’t just mean making sure you’re prepared for emergencies because, after all, emergencies are fairly rare. So what you’ll also need to think about is being able to reduce everyday risks like trips, falls, blocked exits, and so on.
Make sure you’ve got clear walkways, secure handrails, sensible storage, and other ideas that can help make your home safer, and you’ll be able to enjoy it much more. Plus, putting these things in place is easy and generally inexpensive, so there’s no reason not to start right now.
Feature image by Sheldon Kennedy on Unsplash.
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