Moving into a new space is a stressful and tiring experience. There is a long to-do list that you have to deal with when moving into a new house. However, there are few critical safety concerns that you should address instantly after moving to your new home.
Five Critical Safety Concerns to Address
1. Address Home Inspection Concerns
If you are moving to a rented house, ensure that you perform a thorough inspection of the house on your own upon moving in and document any issues in the house in both writing and pictures.
If you have purchased a new house, review all home inspection documents that were completed during your house purchase. List all the unresolved issues in order of preference. This might include larger jobs, such as replacing the HVAC system or furnace, installing solid insulated exterior doors, and smaller jobs, such as insulation improvement and proper covering of exterior electric outlets.
2. Test All Smoke Alarms and CO2 Detectors
It is vital to have smoke alarms in your house. According to the study, 3 out of 5 deaths happen in residences due to defective smoke alarms. Test all your smoke alarms and CO2 detectors and replace them with batteries if required. If smoke alarms are older than ten years, replace them immediately.
3. Develop a Plan for Fire Escape
Do you know that you have just 2 minutes to leave your house safely after your smoke alarm rings? Therefore, it is crucial to develop a fire escape plan for your house. Ensure to check your windows and doors and create two exit plans for each room. Fix a meeting point outside the house where every family member should reach after exiting the house in case of a fire emergency. Practice your fire exit planning!
4. Inspect and Clean Your Dryer Vents
Dryer vents pose a potential fire hazard inside your house. With time, lint, debris and other contaminants accumulate within your dryer vent and restrict airflow. This puts pressure on the dryer machine and increases the risk of fire. You cannot find out if the previous owner of the house had performed regular cleaning and maintenance of the dryer vent or not.
So, it is necessary to perform thorough professional dryer vent inspection when you move into a new house to ensure it’s clean and free of accumulated lint and debris. For this, you can search for a reputed local dryer vent cleaning and maintenance service.
5. Familiarize Yourself with Water Shut-Off Valve and Circuit Breaker in Your House
You should familiarize yourself with the water shut off valve and circuit breaker in your house, as you are likely to need them in the event of water emergency and power outage. You can find the exact location in your house inspection report.
Know about the shut-off valves and circuit breakers’ exact location, test them by shutting on and off to ensure that they are working. By figuring out these things beforehand, you can save yourself and your family in case of an emergency.
