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Moving house is an exciting time, but since everything is so new, you’re probably feeling more vulnerable about yourself and your family’s safety. Home safety goes further than just making sure you’re locking your doors whenever you go out.

Since you’ll also want to make sure that you’re safe within your household, here are some essential home safety tips that you can put into action when you first move into your new house:

Light Up The Outdoor Area

If you’ve moved into a new neighbourhood, then there’s a strong chance that you’re not going to know much about the area. Break-ins and burglaries can happen no matter where you live, so you should make sure you’re taking every step to deter burglars from targeting your property.

Installing some motion sensor lights around the front and back of your property is a great way to keep your house safe, and not only will you be putting off burglars, but lights are also pretty handy for helping you see when you’re leaving home early in the morning or during the night.

Conduct An Electricity Safety Check

Electrical faults are a common cause of fires around the world, so if you want to be assured that all your appliances are working as they should be in your new house, then it’s a good idea to conduct an electricity safety check.

Businesses like Electrical Safety Certificate will send out a qualified electrician to conduct a detailed check on all your electrical installations. Undergoing the electrical testing and obtaining electrical test certificate at regular intervals ensures that all the possible potential risks are identified early, meaning that you can prevent both electrical fires and electric shocks. For more information, check out: electricalsafetycertificate.co.uk.

Test Your Smoke Alarm

On the topic of house fires, you should make sure that your smoke alarm is fully working- especially when you first move into your house, since you’ll probably have no idea when it was last checked.

Going forward, it’s best to check your smoke alarm once every two months to ensure that your family are safe. If a fire was to happen during the night, you want to make sure that you’re best protected when you’re sleeping.

Set Up A Security System

Home security systems can be incredibly reassuring if you’re worried about people breaking into your home, particularly if you live alone and you want that extra degree of safety. Doorbell cameras are a great place to start, since you’ll always have a clear view of who’s outside your home. You could also install window alarms to give you another layer of protection.

Protect Your Wi-Fi Network

When we think about home safety, we often forget about out Wi-Fi network. We use our phones for just about everything these days, and most of us will have our bank details saved onto at least one website or app. You should make sure you secure your wireless router to prevent people from gaining access to your personal details.

Welcoming your newborn into your home from the hospital is going to be a big day, but much before that big day arrives, there are a few safety checks and remodeling options that every parent should consider. Check out the pointers below as we discuss the important details regarding how to make your home more secure before having a child.

Get Your House Checked for Lead Toxicity

Lead is found most commonly in paint, and if you have inherited an old home or recently bought one, it’s imperative that you get a lead paint testing done first. Additionally, you should also call a plumber to replace the lead pipes if the house still has any left from the old days.

Ideally, all of this should be done even before moving into the house, but given how harmful lead can be for children in particular, it’s something that just has to be done months before the baby is born.

Checking for Asbestos

Lead is bad for children, and in high amounts it can be toxic for anybody.However, both asbestosis and mesothelioma are painful, incurable and deadly. Now, here is an important bit of information that people often miss out on; asbestos usage and imports have not ceased in the US. Although the chances of finding it in modern homes are rare, it isn’t impossible either.

The bottomline is that you should ignore the popular opinion regarding asbestos being banned since the early ‘70s, because the phase out plan did not manage to phase it all out just yet! Get your house checked, irrespective of its date of construction, before moving in and especially before having a child.

If there’s asbestos found and you can’t move because of financial commitments, ensure that the toxic substance is removed by professionals thoroughly, and well before your child arrives.

Install a Ceiling Fan Above the Nursery

It’s been found that a ceiling fan can proactively reduce or even eliminate the chances of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS in a lot of cases. As the fan will keep the air inside the room in circulation continuously, the chances of the child getting asphyxiated by breathing in carbon monoxide will be greatly reduced, if not completely eliminated.

Secure the Floor

Toddlers spend a lot of time on the floor, which is natural and should be allowed. Unfortunately, floors are not always the safest place for a child to be, unless you make it so. Make floor renovation a priority on your checklist, as cracked tiles and broken floorboards can lead to tragedies. At the same time, check to see if any floor level electric outlets could be covered.

Finally, don’t forget to build a proper nursery, complete with a baby monitor and the necessary guard rails in place. There’s only so much we can do to predict and prevent future incidents, but more often than not, these are enough for turning your home into a safe haven for your newborn.

Anyone who has purchased a New Home knows that once the final documents are signed, that’s when the hard work really starts.

There are dozens of obvious tasks: things like figuring out the actual logistics of moving furniture, stopping and starting utilities, getting kids enrolled in school, and (of course) weeding out your old stuff and getting cool new stuff to take its place.

But your “to-do” move-in list should also include keeping your new home as secure as possible. Here are seven things you should do to get off to the best start.

1. Make it a priority

With so much going on during the move, it’s easy to let home security slip and become a secondary concern. But whether you choose professionally installed security or a DIY home alarm system, your commitment to protect your new home should start from Day 1.

This is especially true if you’re formerly a renter. A new home is a special, rewarding experience that requires a different level of protection than an apartment. Get off on the right foot and keep home security at the top of your to-do list.

2. Secure your wireless network

Since 84 percent of U.S. households have broadband internet service, it’s likely that you’ll follow that trend. It’s more than just internet access; a secure Wi-Fi network is the foundation for any wireless home security system.

Once your Wi-Fi network is set up, however, some adjustments can make it much harder to hack.

For example, customize the name of your home network.

Each router comes with a default network name that can make it easy for hackers who know the ropes. Change the network name to something that makes it difficult to identify your network or your home.

Then change the default password. One way is to use a phrase that’s easy to remember, substituting numbers for letters. For example, il0vech0c0late! (with zeroes instead of “O’s”) is easy to remember and a lot harder to hack. Above all, don’t use a ridiculously simple password like “12345” or “password.”

There are other valuable resources online. But since your router is the front door to your wireless network, setting it up properly can make a wireless home security system difficult to hack. Whether you’re doing it yourself or leaving it to a pro, make sure it’s secure.

3. Know your home inside and out

Before you select your home security, get to know your new home. Take an inventory of entry points where you might be vulnerable.

• Check all your doors and windows. Do they fit tightly, with little chance of being forced open? Do sliding doors rest firmly in place?
• Are there clear sight lines from the street or sidewalk to all points of entry? Passers-by are often an excellent burglary deterrent.
• Is your outdoor lighting adequate? There should be no room for burglars to operate in areas that aren’t well lit.

4. Get a dog

That’s not as silly as it might sound, since we all know it’s not unusual toadd a new canine family member once you’re in a new home with a backyard. But it’s often useful from a security standpoint.

A dog is never a replacement for effective home security, but it can often be an extra layer of protection as long as you’ve got a pet-friendly alarm system.

If it’s a small dog, burglars hate noise. If it’s a big dog, burglars hate to be bitten. But no matter how smart dogs are, they can’t alert authorities like professionally monitored home security.

It’s easy to find a pet-friendly alarm system with motion detectors that can be adjusted to not be triggered by a small- to medium-sized dog. That eliminates one potential cause of false alarms.

Let’s not forget about your feline friends. A pet-friendly alarm system also accommodates cats, giving them the run of the house without setting off an alarm.

5. Shop carefully for a wireless home security system

Now that you’ve got the groundwork out of the way, you’re ready to go shopping. Here are five basic questions you should answer when you start your search:

• What’s your budget?The price you’ll see is often for a basic system. You most likely will have to add additional equipment to fit your home, plus smart-home devices to enhance your lifestyle.
• Do you want professional installation or DIY? You don’t have to be a technical wizard to install most top-rated DIY home alarm systems – most are peel-and-stick with easy setup – but you may be more comfortable with a professionally installed system.
• Do you trust the brand? When you’re doing your research, you’ll see myriad offerings from dozens of companies. Check online, although beware of review sites that are surreptitiously run by an alarm company to build positive (but bogus) reviews. Look at a wide range of review sites, and the best names will continually bubble to the surface.
• Do you want professional monitoring? Most systems offer DIY monitoring, which lets you track activity from your smartphone or mobile device. But professional monitoring offers quick alarm response by trained professionals who know what to do during an emergency. Self-monitoring might seem attractive, but weighing those options should be part of your homework.
• How expandable is the system? Make sure it’s easy to add smart-home devices to a wireless home security system at any point after installation. As time goes on, video cameras, video doorbells, locks, lights, and thermostats will be attractive add-ons.

6. Check outpost-installation savings

By this point in the process, you have decided on a system and may already have installed it. But don’t forget to check with your insurance company to see if you can get a break on your homeowner’s insurance.

Many providers offer discounts of as much as 10 to 20 percent for a professionally monitored system. Other companies add discounts for devices like leak or freeze sensors. That can really add up over the course of a year, helping your monthly monitoring pay for itself.

7. Make sure everyone knows how to use it

User error is responsible for the majority of false home security alarms. The final step in securing your home should be to ensure that everyone:

• Understands how the system works.
• Memorizes passcodes that are needed to arm or disarm the system.
• Knows how to cancel a false alarm, including memorizing code words that may be required by monitoring professionals.

Family members also need to understand the importance of arming the system if they’re last to leave the home. An unarmed wireless home security system is nothing more than a wall decoration if it’s not set to protect your home.

Home Security Apps

Home is the most precious thing we hold in life, because it gives us shelter and a sense of security. You can compromise on materials and stuff, but when it comes to home security and protection, it can never be ignored. At times, when you are not home, you are worried about the belongings, your kids, siblings and parents back home. But fret not! The advancement in technology has brought to us a wide variety of home security apps that can simply secure your homes without spending even a penny. These applications also help you perform various other tasks to ensure easy and flexible lifestyle.Home is the most precious thing we hold in life, because it gives us shelter and a sense of security. You can compromise on materials and stuff, but when it comes to home security and protection, it can never be ignored. At times, when you are not home, you are worried about the belongings, your kids, siblings and parents back home. But fret not! The advancement in technology has brought to us a wide variety of home security apps that can simply secure your homes without spending even a penny. These applications also help you perform various other tasks to ensure easy and flexible lifestyle.

Most of these apps are compatible with Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows Phone, and other web-enabled services. However, we have combined some best home security apps for Android and iOS, and are providing you their key features, so you can choose the best among them.

Home Security Apps For Android

1) Video Surveillance Ivideon

With over 2,000,000 users in more than 100 countries, the Ivideon is a preferred home security and protection app. It can record videos on local storage or their own cloud storage for you to catch up later. Trusted by millions of homes and businesses Ivideon tops the list for our best home security apps.

Key features:

• Instant notifications for suspicious sounds and activities
• High-quality videos easily accessible from anywhere
• Live camera access can be shared with family members

Download Ivideon

2) Alfred:

Alfred home security is a smartphone based monitoring app, which is free of cost. It alerts you to any unusual activity and can save videos up to seven days. A variety of functions and clear instructions help you secure your home with Batman’s supporting agent Alfred. Just use one of your device as camera and another as a viewer.

Key features:

• Includes two-way talking function
• Includes night vision mode
• User-friendly interface
• Incorporates two-way talking function

Download Alfred

3) I-security:

I- security is one of the best home security apps for Android to remotely monitor live video from multiple cameras. The app also indorses snapshots and physical / digital PTZ control.

 

 

Key features:

• Supports snapshots
• Digital input and output system
• Sets up to 64 live channels to monitor

Download I-secuirty

Home Security Apps for iOS

Below you will find some good security applications compatible with iOS devices:

1) Reolink

It is an efficient and comprehensive security camera system surveillance app for iOS. Its powerful camera recording system ranks it amongst the best home security apps. You can connect your IP cameras with it and watch live streaming of your home.

 

Key Features:

• Easy to use
• Motion detection notification
• Easily accessible from anywhere around

Download Reolink

2) Presence

When we talk about old iOS phones and best home security apps, we find an interesting connection in between. The ‘Presence’ app allows you to connect an old iOS device to a new iPhone and use the old gadget’s video camera to keep an eye on your home in real time. Have a secured feeling with instant alerts and notifications while Presence is there!

Key Features:

• Gives a brand new identity to your old iPhone
• Compatible with several devices
• 50 MB of free cloud storage for recordings

Download Presence

3) Alarm

Last but not least, alarm.com is one of the most impressive and useful security apps. Besides home security and protection, it enables you to control your home lights, thermostat, and even doors. In addition, it allows you to connect to your already existing home security systems.

Key Features:

• Includes the option to set up temperature
• Lock and unlock doors
• Arm or disarm home security system remotely

Download Alarm