5 Home Safety Hazards You Should Prevent ASAP

Your home is your castle, but without a moat and drawbridge, you need other ways to keep your family safe and secure. One way you can do this is by attending to potential home safety hazards before they turn into something major. If you see any of the following signs of trouble, add these five home improvement projects to your must-do list.

Leaky roof

Drip-drip. The pattering sound of rain against a closed window is very pleasant; the sound of rain dripping through your roof and hitting the living room floor is not. A damaged roof can be one of the costliest home safety hazards if not taken care of promptly.

While water dripping through the ceiling is an obvious sign of a leaky roof, others include spreading stains along the ceiling or along the tops of the walls.

The older your home, the likelier it is to develop leaks in the roof, although damage can occur in any house due to severe weather, rodent or insect infestation, shoddy construction or, even, clogged gutters.¹ Catching a roofing leak quickly is the best way to keep your repair costs to a minimum. Depending on the cause and the extent of the damage, you can expect to pay anywhere from $150 to several thousand dollars to fix a leaky roof. ²

Leaks under the sink

While you'll notice a big leak easily, it's much easier to miss the signs of small kitchen or bathroom sink leaks until they have caused major damage. Signs of water damage include warping or destruction of the floor, damage to nearby walls and soggy or ruined cleaning or toiletry supplies. A slow leak also leads to one of the most insidious home safety hazards: black mold.³

Check the area underneath your kitchen and bathroom sinks each month, looking for water stains, obvious puddles, damp floorboards, moisture on items stored under the sink or musty smells. If you find signs of a leak, take action right away before the problem grows.

If you are reasonably handy, you might be able to tackle the leak yourself, but for most homeowners, you'll need a plumber. If so, you can expect to pay anywhere from $45 to $150 per hour, depending on your location, the time of day and the complexity of the problem.⁴

Go a step further to help protect your home from costly flood or water damage with the ADT flood detector. Place flood sensors in the basement, near the water heater and dishwasher, or anywhere else in your home where flooding might occur, and you'll be quickly notified should a leak develop.

Clogged dryer vent

According to the National Fire Protection Association, there are nearly 16,000 fires each year started by clothes dryers and washing machines, and the leading cause is an uncleaned dryer filled with lint.⁵ You'll generally know lint is building up in the dryer's venting system when it starts to take an excessively long time to dry a load of clothes.

Cleaning your dryer's lint trap after every use greatly reduces the risk. And once per year, have a professional come in to do a complete dryer cleaning and servicing, which includes cleaning the entire length of dryer vent, inspecting the integrity of the dryer and the vents, checking the hoses and removing debris. On average, you'll pay around $128 for this service—a bargain when it comes to the safety of your family.⁶

But don't stop there; give your family and your home extra peace of mind with monitored fire protection from ADT. Our smoke detectors can help alert you to a potential fire, in addition to alerting the local fire department.

Dirty chimney

Annual chimney maintenance is a must. As wood burns in the fireplace, dangerous levels of soot and creosote can build up inside the flue and the results can be disastrous. According to the National Fire Prevention Association, out of the more than 54,000 house fires due to heating equipment each year, 31 percent start in the chimney or fireplace.⁷

Signs the chimney needs cleaning include obvious buildup of soot inside the structure, smoke drifting into the room instead of going up the chimney, weak flames and a "tar" smell.

You probably clean out cooled ashes regularly, but most homeowners prefer to leave the real dirty work to a professional chimney sweep. These experts will inspect and clean your fireplace and chimney from top to bottom, inside and out. It's not an excessively expensive job, either; on average, you'll spend $224 on a professional chimney cleaning.⁸

A dirty or leaky chimney can also direct dangerous carbon monoxide back inside your home. Don't leave your family vulnerable to this odorless, colorless, toxic gas. ADT has 24/7 carbon monoxide monitoring devices capable of both detecting carbon monoxide in your home and alerting you and first responders.

Aging electrical system

If your house is 50 or more years old, its electrical system is most likely in need of an upgrade. Not only are old wiring circuits outmoded in terms of technology, they are also at higher risk of frays or other damage. Old electrical systems weren't designed to handle the average electrical demands of today's homes, with their multiple televisions, computers, smart appliances and lights.

Signs that your home's electrical system is in need of an upgrade include flickering lights, circuits frequently overloading, warm outlets and switches and tripped circuit breakers. Aging electrical wires and circuit breakers are one of the biggest home safety hazards; the National Fire Prevention Association reports there are more than 45,000 house fires each year caused by some fault in the home's electrical system.⁹

Few homeowners are equipped to work with electrical wiring, so this is definitely one of the home improvement projects best left to a professional. On average, you'll pay anywhere from $50 to $100 per hour for an electrician's services.¹⁰ Total costs to upgrade your home's electrical system will depend on the complexity of the project.

Worth the price

Though some of these projects can be pricey, staying on top of home maintenance will save you time, money and heartache in the long run.

Resources

1. White, Lauren. "The Ultimate Troubleshooting Guide to Roof Repair." The Spruce. November 17, 2017. Accessed March 19, 2018. https://www.thespruce.com/top-roof-repair-and-maintenance-tutorials-4058145.
2. "Learn How Much It Costs to Repair a Roof." HomeAdvisor. Accessed March 19, 2018. https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/roofing/repair-a-roof/?zip=91355#repair.
3. "Mold." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. December 20, 2017. Accessed March 19, 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.html.
4. "Learn How Much It Costs to Hire a Plumber." 2018 Plumber Costs | How Much Do Plumbers Charge? Accessed March 19, 2018. https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/plumbing/hire-a-plumber/?st=&sc=0.044693176.
5. Campbell, Richard. "Home Fires Involving Clothes Dryers and Washing Machines." NFPA Report - Home Fires Involving Clothes Dryers and Washing Machines. March 2017. Accessed March 20, 2018. https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Fire-statistics-and-reports/Fire-statistics/Fire-causes/Appliances-and-equipment/Home-fires-involving-clothes-dryers-and-washing-machines.
6. "Learn How Much It Costs to Clean Dryer Vents." 2018 Dryer Vent Cleaning Costs | Prices and Cost Factors. Accessed March 20, 2018. https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/cleaning-services/clean-dryer-vents/?zip=91355.
7. "U.S. Home Heating Equipment Fires." NFPA Fact Sheet: U.S. Home Heating Equipment Fires. December 2017. Accessed March 20, 2018. https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/News-and-Research/Fire-statistics/Fact-sheets/HeatingFactSheet.pdf.
8. "Learn How Much It Costs to Clean a Chimney." 2018 Chimney Cleaning Costs | Chimney Sweep & Fireplace Inspection Prices - HomeAdvisor. Accessed March 20, 2018. https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/cleaning-services/clean-chimney/?zip=91355.
9. "Electrical Fires Fact Sheet." NFPA Research: Electrical Fires Fact Sheet. Accessed March 20, 2018. https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/News-and-Research/Fire-statistics/Fact-sheets/ElectricalFactSheet.pdf.
10. "Learn How Much It Costs to Hire an Electrician." 2018 Guide to Electrician Costs & Average Hourly Rates - HomeAdvisor. Accessed March 20, 2018. https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/electrical/hire-an-electrician/?zip=91355#wiring.

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