What makes a happy home? Well, it’s a place where you and your family are safe. You are protected from the world, and it’s different components. Be that mouldy walls or home invasions, your home should be a fortress, keeping you safe from these things. A happy home is also energy efficient, and affordable to run and maintain. It is one that is warm in the winter, cool in the summer. It is many, many other things too, including love and laughter.

A healthy home doesn’t necessarily mean one with a bulging fruit bowl and an abundance of yoga DVDS. It’s just as much about the health of the property itself, and the effect that it is having on you and your family.

One of the most dangerous things health-wise that can be in your home is mould. One of the ways it starts is if your interior walls get wet. This can happen if your roof is damaged, allows water to seep through. On top of mould growth, it can also make ruin your home’s insulation. Not to mention the fact that your home might become structurally unstable. With this in mind, roof maintenance and roof repairs should be a priority for every homeowner. While it may be costly and inconvenient, the alternatives are far worse. Click here for one article that tells you the signs to look out for.  

Let’s talk more about safety. There are so many places in the world where you can’t guarantee your safety. However, the home should not be one of these places!

There are a number of ways of making your home safe. While dangers are many, there are also many ways to protect yourself from them.

To make your home safe from burglars, invest in a good quality lock. Go for the best one you can afford; the more you can spend, the more complex the locking system. If you live in a higher risk area, consider other forms of home protection. You might want to install gates at the entrance to your property. A CCTV camera fitted outside is another option, or if funds are limited, how about a dummy version? You can also get fake decals that say the house is monitored. Click here for one article that weighs up the pros and cons of fake CCTV cameras.

Keep your fire and smoke detectors well cared for too. A detector with dead batteries is as useful as no detector at all. Every month, just press the button on the device to check if it is still working. Keep spare batteries in the house so you can replace them immediately when the time comes, and, of course, reduce the risk of a fire in the home with things you are in control of. Keep candles away from material, like curtains or clothes. Keep on top of electrical items maintenance, to ensure there are no electrical fires, and don’t let yourself be distracted when you are cooking or baking in the kitchen.

Also, teach your children good fire safety from a young age. While you, of course, hope it never happens, teach them the different fire escape routes in the home. Explain what they should do if there is a fire for every room in the house. Giving them this information could save their lives. If you are speaking with older children, their well-informed actions should save some of your home’s belongings too.

You should also consider getting a carbon monoxide detector fitted too. Our article about keeping your family safe at home explains more about it.

Furthermore, if you live in an area that is at high risk of flooding, research early on what you should do if a flood warning is announced. Keep sandbags in your garden shed, and be able to move belongings upstairs at short notice.

Next up, you need to think about the warmth of your home? If you’re freezing in December and steaming hot during August, it is time to make some changes. A home that is the wrong temperature can damage items in the home. It can also make living in it unpleasant at best and unbearable at worst.

Consider your windows. If they’re single-glazed, they could be part of the problem. You might want to consider double-glazing or even triple. Not only do these windows keep the cold out, they can also help deflect heat in the summer.

You might also want to think about installing a boiler. They can save money on your fuel costs, which offsets the initial cost it will mean. They’re also very efficient and better for the environment than traditional heating systems. Companies like http://flame-on-boiler-installation.co.uk/ can give you more guidance on making a decision.

Also, look at the efficiency of any air conditioning you have installed. If your unit is temperamental, or prone to breaking, get it fixed. This is especially important at the moment, as the summer months are approaching. Companies who can fix them will be at their busiest in the summer. This means that it could be days or even weeks before they could come and fix yours if it breaks completely later in the year. If you have children in the house, being able to keep them cool will be a priority for you. Houses that are too hot can have a negative effect on everyone, from making you feel uncomfortable during the day to keeping you awake at night. Don’t put it off. Unlike roof repairs, which can take days, air conditioning units can be fixed in under two hours in most cases.

Dangers come other places too. They come from things that we do ourselves. Take a step back and see your house with fresh eyes. A table corner isn’t dangerous to you; it’s at leg height. The worst damage it could do would be to bruise your knee as you walk past. However, if a toddler trips nearby, they could damage their face, their head or even their eye. While this might sound scary, you can protect against this danger in a really simple way. Use rubber corner protectors. It’s a simple and affordable solution. Big name brands like Wilko sell them for just £1 a pack. 

You’ll find that similar solutions will be available for many of the other potential hazards in your home also. For example, you can get special clips that prevent children from opening things like the oven and the knife drawer, the fridge, covering plug sockets and then of course there are things like stair gates to consider.

Also, consider the space outside of your home; the driveway and/or the garden. How safe is this space? After all, this is a part of your home too, even if it is outdoors. One thing to consider is how stable to ground is. Cracked paving stones can make people trip. This is a risk for adults, but even more so for the elderly or toddlers. Be sure that everyone in your family, and any visitors, can walk or run outside of your property without risk of falling. Is your garden safe and secure for your children, or do you need to make some modifications?

You should also keep an eye on any unfamiliar plants or weeds growing in your garden. They could be dangerous, or even poisonous. Not only are your family at risk, but any pets of your own or your neighbours could get hurt too. If you do find anything dangerous, seek professional help. Often, these plants and weeds need removing in a certain way. Just chopping them down could still let them regrow again next season. For a better idea of what could cause problems for you, read guide likes this one.

Another facet of home management that hasn’t yet been mentioned is insurance. It is so important to have a comprehensive insurance policy. If the worst happens, and your home is damaged, you will need financial support. Online features like this article http://www.mumsnet.com/family-money/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-home-insurance will give you some guidance. Consider what are you at most risk of when it comes to choosing your insurance policy. Do you live in an area where homes are regularly broken into? Do you live near a river that is prone to flooding? Have other homes in the area been discovering structural problems in recent months? Don’t wait for these problems to occur. Predict for yourself what could be coming, and then plan accordingly.

The benefits of a home that is happy in all of the above ways is vastly beneficial. While you might need to invest money to do the things above, you might be able to make it back. Financially, it is worth more the less damaged and more cared for it is. Any investments you make in creating a healthier and safer home could actually save you money further down the line. The house will also be easier to sell if you ever do decide to move on.

A home is made happy by ensuring you have all the above elements installed, at hand or in working order. That way, you and your family can relax. You can know that you are doing your bit in keeping things as they should be. Most of all though, you can get on with your life, and let the home take care of you; not the other way around!