Annual Home Safety Checklist
To finally be able to call yourself a homeowner is a huge achievement, but it is a role that comes with plenty of responsibilities. Even the most beautiful homes lose their luster and deteriorate over time; if you want to make your home a safe and comfortable haven for your family, you need to maintain and care for it the best way you can.
Home inspections are best known as something you do before you purchase a house to make sure nothing’s wrong with it. And too often, it’s usually the first and last inspection that homeowners subject their properties to.
What many people fail to understand, though, is that like your home insurance coverage, home inspections are also an essential part of homeownership. Getting an annual home maintenance inspection is a great way to catch problems in your home before they get worse.
What is a home maintenance inspection?
Think of home maintenance inspections as an annual wellness checkup for your home. An inspector visits your house to make sure that everything is working properly and that no new issues have popped up since the last time your home was inspected. It’s pretty much similar to and covers the same components as the inspections performed when buying a home, but with more focus on the appliances and systems that you have in your property.
During a home maintenance inspection, the inspector usually looks at the following areas/aspects of the house:
- Exterior
- Interiors
- Roofing
- Structural Components
- Electrical Circuits
- Insulation and Ventilation
- Heating and Cooling Systems
- Plumbing
- Appliances
A lot of homeowners tend to overlook home inspections and consider it as just another added expense. On the contrary, having routine home inspections can actually help you save money by detecting problems in your home before they get out of hand and become more expensive to repair.
Also, the home inspector can give you an honest opinion of what damages need to be repaired immediately and what can still wait for a few more months or years.
Ideally, you should get a home inspection every year, but you can also opt to do it once in two or three years. It would be even better if you can perform your own routine home safety and security checks in between scheduled professional home maintenance inspections to ensure that your home property is in good shape all-year-round.
Home Safety Checklist
This home safety checklist will help you make your home the safest dwelling place it can be.
Emergency Preparedness Checklist
- Establish at least two fire escape routes.
- Purchase a rescue ladder.
- Keep emergency numbers by every phone.
- Create a home emergency kit.
- Place extinguishers in strategic locations.
- Make sure the house number is visible from the street.
General Home Safety Checklist
- Check for frayed wires.
- Check for faulty electrical systems.
- Install deadbolts on doors to the outside.
- Install a sprinkler system.
- Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors around the house.
- Test all alarms.
- Clean all detectors.
- Replace damaged extinguishers.
- Tune up the HVAC system.
- Get the water heater checked.
- Clean vents and air ducts.
- Check for damages in the home’s foundation.
- Check for drafts and loose weather-stripping.
- Insulate exposed pipes.
Living Spaces and Bedroom Safety Checklist
- Sweep the chimney.
- Add nightlights to hallways.
- Secure rugs.
- Add non-skid tape to stairs.
- Inspect switch plates and outlet covers for damage.
- Get a safe.
- Create a home inventory to keep track of belongings.
Kitchen Safety Checklist
- Inspect kitchen appliances.
- Inspect drains and test the garbage disposal.
- Check water filters.
- Clean coils and vents.
- Clean the range hood and make sure it’s fully vented.
Bathroom Safety Checklist
- Check pipes for rust, corrosion, and signs of leakage.
- Inspect the faucets for leaks and drips.
- Inspect caulking and check for signs of moles and mildew.
- Test toilet bowls.
- Install non-slip mats or decals in your bathtub.
- Have a fully-stocked first-aid kit.
Outdoor Safety Checklist
- Inspect the roof.
- Install security lighting/motion-sensing floodlights.
- Check rain gutters and downspouts for clogs and damage.
- Put a fence around your pool (if you have children).
Happy home, safe home! Contact Lucent Property Inspections today for more information about home safety or home maintenance inspections.