New homeowners face a variety of challenges, and one of those challenges is safety. In a home where everything is new to you, you’ll need to take the time to learn all about your home’s electrical and plumbing systems, and you should invest in some safety measures that will provide you with long-term security. We will show you a few of the most common problems new homeowners encounter as well as a few safety tips to help you safeguard your new home.
Where is Everything?!
One of the first things you need to do is acquaint with your new home’s electrical and plumbing system. In an emergency, you’ll need to know exactly where to look to shut things down. Start by looking at your home’s circuit breaker box. Breaker boxes should be labeled, but not every homeowner takes the time to mark each breaker. If you are lucky enough to have a breaker box that has been labeled, understand that after years of the previous owners changing things around, some of those labels may be incorrect.
If you have a test meter for electrical outlets, use it to test each outlet in your home, making sure to update labels in your breaker box as you go. If you don’t have a test meter, they are inexpensive to purchase at a home improvement store, or you can simply use a lamp or nightlight to make sure your outlets are properly labeled and working as they should be.
While you’re labeling things, you may also want to label the valves in your water system - at least until you’re familiar with what each valve does. You never know when a plumbing emergency may occur and having an understanding of the fastest and easiest way to shut off the water could mean the difference between a small emergency and a major one.
Labeling your plumbing and breaker box is one of the best ways to get to know your home’s systems, and it’ll provide you or anyone you call for repairs a handy reference when you need to shut something down quickly.
Set Up an Inspection Schedule
If you’ve just purchased your home, then it’s likely that you’ve had it inspected and you’re confident that there are no hidden problems. However, don’t plan on your home staying problem-free forever! For that matter, home inspectors don’t always catch every problem, so you should definitely be on the lookout for sneaky problems such as:
- Corroded pipes, seized valves and plumbing leaks.
- Wood-destroying insects, rodents and other pests.
- Foundation cracks, drafty windows and other air leaks.
- Mold, mildew and rot - particularly in humid climates.
If you inspect your home from top to bottom on at least a quarterly basis, you should be able to catch the vast majority of these problems before they turn into massive repair bills.
Installing Smoke and CO Detectors
Whether the previous owners installed them or not, you should purchase a few smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors of your own. Older models tend to lose their effectiveness after a few years, so you will definitely need to replace any detectors that aren’t new. It doesn’t hurt to beef up your defenses by installing smoke and CO detectors as follows:
- At least one detector on each floor of your home.
- One detector in your garage.
- A detector within 10 feet of each bedroom door.
- Test the batteries in all of your detectors when you do your quarterly home inspections and replace them as necessary.
Getting to know the plumbing and electrical system of your home is one of the biggest hurdles for any new homeowner. Routine inspections and safety precautions will help you head off problems before they become big, and they’ll give you some peace of mind. Follow these steps, and the winterization tips from Part 1 of this series, and you’ll be well on your way to a happy and healthy first year in your new home!
Sources:
http://www.thecircuitdetective.com/label.htm
http://www.homesafe.com/coalert/
