What should I consider for home security?

Home security can consist of several different possibilities.

Here a set of considerations for improving your home security.  Some are simple and very cost effective while others may require an investment in equipment, time and more money.

• Locksmith – Have a professional locksmith re-key all the locks on the house. You never know who has a key to your new home. There could be a key hidden outside by the former homeowner or a neighbor could have a spare as well. 
• A home safe - Installing a home safe is a very good idea. In a good sturdy fire-resistant safe, you can keep your house documents, inventory, medical/dental records, titles and other valuables. Securing a safe permanently in an out of the way location is the best solution.  What good is a safe that's just sitting in the corner of your bedroom closet.  Once an unsecured safe is carried away, you've still lost the items.  Good crooks know how to drill a safe and get the goodies out.
  
• Home security/alarm – If you are going to have a home security system installed or have the existing one monitored. Do it now. Having a security system monitored often returns a hefty discount on your home insurance policy. In addition to saving money, you get more peace of mind.  Most home security systems have sensors on the windows and doors.  Thieves know this so they break windows or kick in doors.  Having a glass breakage sensor or motion detectors are often an additional expense but do a much better job detecting unwanted guests.
  
• Doors – Make sure your exterior doors are closing well and locking tightly. Always lock the door behind you when you enter your house.  Consider a longer striker plate for your door jamb. The striker is the flat metal plate with the curved edge that the door hardware slides against when latching. Standard striker plates only have short screws to secure them to the jamb. Some hardware stores offer longer strikers that combine both holes for the door hardware and the dead bolt lock. Most importantly, they come with very long bolts to actually anchor the striker to the framing of the house and not just the door jamb. It is very difficult to kick in a door with an extended striker plate.
• Exterior security – Make sure you have good lighting all around the exterior of your house. Floodlights on all corners with motion detectors are a good choice. When anyone is near the house, the lights come on. Trimming back heavy foliage around the perimeter of the house can reduce or eliminate hiding places. 
• Overhead garage door - If you use an overhead garage door opener, when you arrive home. Be sure to look in both side mirrors to make sure you are the only one in the garage. Close the door completely before you get out of the car. If an intruder gets in, you have a very loud car horn that might change their mind.
• A dog? - Yes, a dog.  Dogs have been around since the dawn of man to alert humans to the presence of others nearby.  Even a small dog can fend off potential home invaders.  Yes, they are in investment with veterinarian bills, food, and time exercising them.  However, not only do they provide love and companionship, they have a powerful duty to protect their pack with you as their alpha.  If you loath the idea of rearing a puppy, consider an older rescue dog.  These are often already trained and housebroken.  There are many types of animal rescue centers in most towns.  Animal shelters can also be a great source.
  

Regardless of they type of house you have, there are some necessary tasks you will have to do stay on top of things.  Learn more and keep up with your house with a free My Healthy House.com profile.  Stay tuned and make your house the best it can be.  

If you have any comments or suggestions on how this blog can be improved including suggested articles or constructive criticism, please send us feedback.

© Healthy House, Inc. 2009

I’m moved in. Now what?

Moving into a new home is an exciting yet stressful part of your busy life and the stress is almost over.

You’ve been temporarily removed from your regular daily routine to find a Realtor and mortgage officer. They have helped you through the process of finding and financing your new purchase. The home inspection, negotiations and repairs are all done.  Now, you’ve closed and you hold the keys to your largest investment. Most people breath a sigh of relief at this point. However, there are still a few things to consider now that the furniture has been delivered and the boxes are getting unpacked. We’ve put together a checklist of things to consider as you settle into your new place. Many of these items listed can help you organize and manage your new home in a safer more efficient manner.

First, update your profile. You’re my Healthy House.com profile is one of the most useful tools to organize and hold the contact information and records of those whom have helped get to where you are today. Be sure to select your favorite Realtor, contractors and those who helped you in the process of buying your new home. Here are some suggestions of those people you might want to add as a “Favorite”:

• Realtor

• Mortgage officer/broker

• Mover

• Home inspector

• Insurance agent

• Contractors like locksmith, roofer, plumber, electrician, pest control, lawn irrigation or flooring.

You should also update all your profile features like appliances and systems. Some home inspectors collect a lot of this data so check with them or refer to your inspection report. With an accurate profile, you will be poised to receive all the benefits of a smart house. The more detailed and current your profile is, the smarter your house becomes. The smarter your house, the more it can tell you exactly what it needs to stay healthy and the more accurate your maintenance records will be.  When you sell your home, you can take advantage of displaying components of your My Healthy House.com profile as a tool to market your home.


Regardless of they type of house you have, there are some necessary tasks you will have to do stay on top of things.  Learn more and keep up with your house with a free My Healthy House.com profile.  Stay tuned and make your house the best it can be.  

If you have any comments or suggestions on how this blog can be improved including suggested articles or constructive criticism, please send us feedback.

© Healthy House, Inc. 2009

Checklist - "I've moved in. Now what?"

Moving in checklist

Update your My Healthy House.com profile – Make your house smart

• Add your house details
• Add your “Favorite” Realtor, Contractors, Home Inspector, Builder and others
• Set up your maintenance reminders to keep track of the things you do
  

 Change of address.  Use the Official US Post Office form.

• Update banking and credit card information
• Voter registration
• Driver’s license
• Newspaper and magazine subscriptions
• Auto title and registration
• Meet with your attorney to discuss changes in will, estate or other legal issues

If you haven’t already done so, set up these local services:

• Auto Finance
• Bank/Finance 
• Cable/Satellite 
• Credit Card
  
• Dentists 
• Doctors
• Dry Cleaner
• Electric
• Fuel (Gas/Oil/Propane) 
  
• Health Club 
• Lawn Service 
• Laundry Service
• Pharmacy
• School registration 
• Sewer District
• Telephone 
• Trash collection
• Veterinarian
• Water utility

 Other things to consider:

• Check all your appliances and electronics to make sure nothing was damaged during the move. There may be a limited amount of time in which to make a claim to either the movers or your insurance company. You should make sure any big ticket items are working properly.
• Keep all your receipts and any documentation related to your move in one file and keep the file in a safe, secure place. Make sure you have your Bill of Lading and payment receipt. You'll need these items related to tax issues.
• When installing your laundry equipment in your home don't use the rubber (black or gray) laundry supply lines for your washing machine.  They have been known to break and can flood a house in minutes.  Instead, invest in the stainless steel braided laundry line which hole much more pressure without weakening the rubber.
• Go ahead and check your HVAC air filter and change the filter is it is at all dirty.
• Check your water heater's TPRV and flush the tank.
  
• Replace all the batteries in your smoke detectors with fresh ones.
• The first step to home security is to re-key all the locks to ensure you are the only one with access.

Regardless of they type of house you have, there are some necessary tasks you will have to do stay on top of things.  Learn more and keep up with your house with a free My Healthy House.com profile.  Stay tuned and make your house the best it can be.  

If you have any comments or suggestions on how this blog can be improved including suggested articles or constructive criticism, please send us feedback.

© Healthy House, Inc. 2009

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Are my smoke detectors really that important? Would you rather be dead?

The smoke detector is probably the single most important life-saving device in your home.

Homeowners should be testing and changing batteries in their smoke detectors annually. But, most do not.  Having operable smoke detectors simply saves lives. Two-thirds of reported residential fire related deaths occur in homes with smoke detectors that are not working, have missing or dead batteries or are simply not present. What most people don't know is that the olfactory or smell sense shuts off when we sleep.  However, our sense of hearing remains on and acute.  Do you remember those days of waking up on Saturday morning to the smell of breakfast cooking?  

The danger of a house fire is not necessarily burning up in the flames as most of us fear.  It's the dangerous combustion gases that enter the lungs.  Noxious fumes from different materials burning spread quickly throughout the house and we breath these fumes.  Inhaling the smoke immediately affects our judgment and disorients us.  The trick to saving lives in a fire is to get out into fresh air and away from the burning building as quickly as possible.
 

Many homeowners take these little devices for granted and assume they are foolproof and completely reliable. However, your life is in the hands of one little 9-volt or a couple of AA batteries.  Batteries require testing to ensure they are indeed working and eventual replacement when depleted of their stored energy. There are many smoke detector manufacturers and many different types of detectors available.  Check the instructions for each manufacturer's testing recommendations. If you don’t have this information you can test your smoke detectors by simply pressing and holding the test button for a few seconds. If the device makes a very loud noise while holding the test button down, then its working. If your smoke detectors are interconnected, like on modern homes, you should hear the detectors throughout the house as well. Never test smoke detectors by creating smoke or by putting a candle under the detector.

Modern standards require all new homes must have their smoke detectors installed in each sleeping room, the adjacent hallway and each level of the house.  They must also be interconnected, hardwired to their own electrical circuit and even be AFCI protected.  Interconnecting is important so that if one unit goes off, it triggers all the others in the house.  Hard wiring is important so if the batteries are dead, there is a second electrical source to activate the alarm.  Batteries are the secondary power back up if the electrical system shuts down during a fire.

In addition to testing and replacing the batteries in each smoke detectors, always make sure you have a designated fire escape plan and perform your fire drill annually.  Smoke detectors will only wake you from a deep sleep.  What to do when you awake needs to be figured out and become second nature when flames are near by.

Frequency: Annually 
Difficulty: Very easy

Tools required: Ladder and a finger or a long rod to push the test button 
Completion Time: 1 minute per smoke detector

Regardless of they type of house you have, there are some necessary tasks you will have to do stay on top of things.  Learn more and keep up with your house with a free My Healthy House.com profile.  Stay tuned and make your house the best it can be.  

If you have any comments or suggestions on how this blog can be improved including suggested articles or constructive criticism, please send us feedback.

© Healthy House, Inc. 2009