***Collaborative post***
Are you doing everything in your power to keep your property safe? No matter where you live, whether you rent or own, you need to make sure that you are in a safe living environment and doing the necessary checks. Here are some of the things you need to make sure that you are doing to keep your living space as safe as possible.
Know Where Things are
Do you know where the important things are in your home? By this, we mean the things that could potentially save your life and help you out in a crisis. For example, if there is a power cut, have you got torches and candles that you can use to light your home until things are restored? It always pays to be prepared.
At a minimum, you need to know where your fuse box and your gas and water mains pipes are. These are all important as they are the points where you can turn things off if you think something has gone wrong. If a pipe has burst, you need to be able to turn the water off. If you smell gas, you need to turn it off at the main until someone can come to check. These are all little things you as a homeowner need to do, but they could one day save your life. Make sure you know where each of these points are in your home and try to make sure other members of your household know too.
Renew Your EICR
Your EICR, or electrical installation condition report, is an important document that everyone needs to have. A residential property needs to have one renewed every 10 years, or with every change of occupancy. Meanwhile, a rented property needs to update theirs every 5 years, or again with every change of occupancy.
This is a document that states that the electrical work within a property is safe and that the property is habitable because of it. By getting in contact with a company like Trade Facilities Services who provide these reports from £99, you will easily be able to arrange your EICR renewal.
Test Your Alarms
When was the last time you tested your smoke alarms? Modern alarms tend to beep when the batteries in them are running low, but you should still make sure you test your alarms when you can to ensure that they are in good working order. The same goes for any heat alarms that you may have in your kitchen.
If you have older alarms in your property, you might want to think about getting them replaced from a safety standpoint. Upgrade your systems now and make sure that you are as safe as possible at all times.
It is imperative that you have the right protections in place within your own home. Try to get in the habit of checking your alarms, and always make sure that you know your own property inside and out so you can be certain that it is always a safe place for living.
