Make sure you’re not sacrificing home safety for convenience this month, and inspect your home’s biggest moving object during Garage Door Safety Month. Follow these tips to help ensure that your family is safe from garage door accidents.

• Keep controls out of reach: Hide garage door controls in a place where children cannot access them. And don’t leave them in your car where parking attendants or others can access them and compromise your home security.

• Test it: Each month, check the door’s reversing mechanism by placing a roll of paper towels in its path. If the mechanism doesn’t reverse the door’s direction as soon as it touches the paper towels, immediately contact a qualified professional to repair your door. Unplug or avoid operating the door until it is repaired.

• Unplug it while you’re away: Either unplug the opening unit or use a wall security switch made especially for use while you’re away on vacation.

Whether you’re crossing the street to go to a neighbor’s cookout in your quiet development or hustling through a crosswalk downtown, don’t assume that you’ll never be involved in a vehicle-pedestrian accident. Well-meaning drivers can easily get distracted and overlook pedestrians. According to the NHTSA, 4,378 pedestrians died in traffic crashes in the U.S. in 2008.

Remember that your home security system can only protect you at home and be sure to keep these safety tips in mind when you’re traveling by foot:

• Follow designated paths: Use sidewalks where provided and only enter or cross streets at legal areas. Drivers expect to see pedestrians in these areas and should be more alert near them.

• Stay visible: If there are no sidewalks, it’s safer to walk facing traffic so you and drivers can see each other better. Avoid walking at night when possible, and wear light-colored clothing and reflective materials. Also carry a flashlight in dark areas.

• Avoid impairment: Consuming alcohol and drugs not only impair your ability to drive, they can also make walking difficult, as well. Keep this in mind and plan accordingly for when you’ll have to walk somewhere.

The first step when you’re leaving for a summer vacation is to remember to activate your ADT home security system . Burglars know that people go away in the summer, and they prepare accordingly. To avoid falling victim to a burglary, you need to make sure that your property looks occupied – even when it isn’t. Be sure to replace the light bulbs around your house, including your exterior lights, and set some sort of timer that will turn lights on and off both indoors and outdoors. This way your house will look more lived-in.

But home security is about more than making sure robbers don’t break in. Also be sure to handle the smaller steps around the house. Unplug electronic devices from overloaded power strips, and be sure that you remember to turn off things like coffee makers, irons, and flat irons. This will greatly reduce the risk of a home fire.

Before you leave town, remember to make essential home security updates to your house. If you take the right steps before leaving, it will make for a much less stressful return home.

Home security is about much more than keeping criminals outside of your house. It’s about protecting your loved ones and personal belongings from other dangers as well – like fire and carbon monoxide poisoning. And while advanced burglary monitoring is a function of all ADT home security systems, remember that there’s more to taking care of your property than worrying about a break-in. In fact, statistics show that in most parts of the country, people are more likely to deal with a fire or water damage than a break-in.

So what can you do to help protect your home from a fire?

Install Smoke Detectors – Once they’re in place, make sure you regularly replace that batteries to keep them functioning.

Be prepared – Have items around the house including fire extinguishers in case a small fire breaks out in the kitchen or another area of the house.

Get an ADT home security system – ADT allows you to integrate smoke detectors into your home alarm system. If there is smoke or fire in your home, the alarm will sound and ADT will immediately contact the local authorities.

Whether it’s during the winter months when fires are statistically more likely to occur, or at another point in the year, take the steps necessary to help prevent a fire in your home.

As summer approaches, families across the country will make travel plans. In addition to booking flights and finding deals on hotels, one thing can’t be overlooked – home security. One of the best ways to protect your home is installing and activating a home security system. Homes with monitored security systems are reportedly three times less likely to be burglarized.

Another great way to help keep your home safe is by hiring a house sitter. He or she can make sure things run smoothly while you’re gone – and most importantly – make you home look occupied. An occupied home is much less appealing to a burglar than one that looks empty. House sitters are also ideal for people with pets.

Here are a few tips to follow when you hire a house sitter:

Keep them informed. If you have dogs or cats that require medicine, a particular kind of food or something else, be sure to let your house sitter know ahead of time. And be sure to leave the house sitter with a list of emergency contact numbers in case anything goes wrong.

Give an overview of your home security system. The house sitter should know how to arm and disarm your ADT security system. Let them know how the system works and create a plan in case a break-in or other home emergency occurs.

Give clear instructions. Make sure everything that needs to be taken care of while you’re away gets clearly listed or communicated. This will make things easier and less stressful for all parties involved, and clear expectations are always great – even if someone is doing you a favor.

Don’t forget about the mail! If you are going out of town, make sure the house sitter brings in the mail and newspaper. When they start piling up, burglars will realize no one is home.

If you’re excited to get out of town this summer, you’re definitely not alone. After a stressful winter in so many different parts of the country, more people are taking time off to enjoy themselves.

But in the rush to leave for vacation, home security can get pushed to the back burner – and that can result in burglaries and a stressful end to a great vacation. Installing an ADT home alarm system and paying attention to common-sense steps before leaving, can mean the difference between your house being burglarized or you being in the clear.

The most important thing to remember when it comes to home security is that it’s not just about having an alarm. The first step towards avoiding a burglary is making your home look occupied at all times. You want your house to look occupied, because most robbers prefer breaking into homes when no one is around.

So if you’re packing up for vacation, take the necessary steps to make sure that you don’t have any trouble. Leave a few lights on and don’t allow mail or newspapers to pile up. Above all, always remember to set your home security system before you leave the house. Without it, your home is a lot more vulnerable.

We’re quickly turning into a more wireless world, which is becoming increasingly helpful to many Americans. The introduction of wireless options, whether it’s a Wi-Fi internet connection or the latest ADT alarm, helps people get things done more efficiently.

The new high-tech gear that comes with ADT monitored alarms does an incredible job of improving the functionality of your home security system. The latest wireless home alarms are not only easier to work with, they also streamline your security system so there are fewer chances for things to go wrong. Take the digital keypad, for example. It lets you activate your home alarm or contact medical or fire dispatchers with the touch of a button. And it’s easy enough for all members of your household to use.

If you are constantly tripping over yourself rushing into the house to disarm your home security system at the end of the day, the keychain remote can save you a lot of time and hassle. The one-touch remote fits right on your keychain and lets your arm or disarm your system from nearly anywhere in your house. It’s perfect if you don’t want to run back inside to set the alarm or if you want to activate the system once you’re already in bed.

April showers are known for bringing May flowers, but sometimes homeowners end up getting a little bit more than they bargained for thanks to generous precipitation. While springtime rain is one of the best things for your garden, too much rain can definitely can mean trouble if it results in flooding.

Many homeowners in the Notheast were relieved during the recent batch of heavy rains, because their homes were equipped with ADT home security systems that had flood monitoring. Flood monitoring is one of the many benefits of an ADT alarm.

You see, it makes sense to assume that a home security system does one job: warning you when criminals are breaking in. But security systems can be about much more. Water sensors are just one of the many things that you can add to your home alarm system to increase safety in other areas, like flooding.

While having a sensor to alert you of smoke, fire, or water might not keep your home from getting damaged, it does something very important: it lets you know when it’s time to take action. If you’re expecting rain in your future – or have valuables in your home that you’d be devastated to see destroyed by water – it’s worthwhile to check out the water sensors available with ADT home security.

From proper fire safety to general home security maintenance, nothing is more important than keeping your family safe. Modern homes are complex, and require a great deal of attention to remain protected. There are a number of things you need to do to make sure your loved ones are secure; we’ve listed some of the most crucial below.

Build an Emergency Action Plan: Sit down with your family and talk about what to do in the case of an emergency. Cover topics ranging from proper ways to escape the home to the setting up of meeting points. In places like California, earthquakes and other natural disasters can cause great disruption to society, so agree on an easily accessible place where you know your family members will go.

Practice Fire Safety: According to the U.S. Fire Administration, more than 3,320 people died in fires in 2008. Avoid becoming a part of these statistics by practicing proper fire safety. Purchase spooled ladders for second floor bedrooms to allow residents to safely escape, and make sure that carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are equipped with fresh batteries.

Install an ADT Home Security System: For more than 130 years, ADT has worked to keep Americans safe. Moving into the 21st century, the company gets the job done with some extremely sophisticated technology, including CellGuard and Two-Way Voice Capability.

Keep Your Kids in Mind: There are many simple things you can do around the home to keep your kids safe. Plug electrical outlets that aren’t in use, and install tamper-resistant locks on cabinet doors that hold hazardous materials like kitchen chemicals. These home improvements cost only a few dollars, but can end up saving your child’s life.

Home security and safety should be a top priority for your family. Start with the simple tips above and begin turning your house or apartment into an environment where everyone can relax safely.

Intrusion is just one of the many home security issues that you need to concern yourself with. There are other dangers that require your attention – like fire, medical emergencies and carbon monoxide poisoning. Below, we’ve detailed some of the major areas of risk that don’t involve a break-in. It’s important to take them equally seriously, however, because they could be even more catastrophic than a burglary. Luckily, an ADT home security system is designed to protect your family from these dangers.

Fire: In 2008, more than 3,000 people died in fires, with fire property damages costing Americans around $15.5 billion. Avoid becoming a statistic by installing an ADT home security system. Powerful smoke monitoring technology immediately sends a signal to one of ADT’s four interconnected command centers in the case of an emergency.

Medical Emergency: As people get older, medical emergencies can become a big concern. With Two-Way Voice from ADT, you can stay in touch with a technician from virtually anywhere inside of your home, up to 75 feet away.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors: Widely called “The Silent Killer” by industry professionals, carbon monoxide is a deadly gas that can’t be seen or smelled. ADT home alarm systems use sophisticated technology to detect carbon monoxide, emitting a distinct audible signal that gives you the chance to get out of your home before the situation becomes even more dangerous.

Burglaries aren’t the only thing to worry about when it comes to home security. Protect your family from these hazards with an ADT home alarm system.