The Fire Extinguisher, Smoke Detector, Carbon Monoxide Detector, and Other Safety Essentials You Need in Your Home

Fire extinguisher

As you become acclimated to your new home, it’s always necessary to ensure you have a proper fire extinguisher. The First Alert PRO5 is affordable and UL certified, and its build, reusability, and availability set it apart from the competition. It effectively handles all types of common household fires, including wood, paper, burning liquids, and electrical fires. The PRO5 exceeds the minimum size recommendations of the National Fire Protection Association yet weighs a manageable 10 pounds. This makes it a suitable size and weight for compact home storage. The First Alert PRO5 is available on the shelves of Ace Hardware, Lowe’s, Target, and Walmart, making it convenient to purchase as you shop for your new space.

Fire escape ladder

A personal fire escape ladder is a commonly overlooked necessity, but it can be critical in case of an emergency in your new home. The X-It 2-Story Emergency Escape Ladder is the best ladder to help you exit an upper floor or high window of your home in a fire. It’s the simplest to set up, the easiest to climb, and unlike many others, designed for reuse.The X-It ladder folds up into a small, brightly colored bundle for easy storage and retrieval, which is useful in homes of any size. Another extremely important factor is that this ladder can be used for practice as well.

Carbon monoxide and smoke detector

If you’re shopping for a smoke alarm in your home and don’t already have carbon monoxide alarms installed, we recommend using the First Alert SCO501CN-3ST Combination Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Voice Location on each floor or in central locations. The units can interconnect so that if one sounds, they all sound and indicate which room the hazard is originating from. This can give you additional time to identify the problem and address it or to plan a safe route to evacuate. This wireless-connection setup is internal to the alarms and does not require a phone app. The alarms also detect carbon monoxide from broken or improperly installed chimneys or fuel-burning appliances such as some furnaces, dryers, or water heaters.

Headlamp

Whether you are experiencing a power outage, going to your attic for the first time, or digging through a closet, the Black Diamond Spot 400 headlamp provides exactly what you need: a bright beam, reliable performance, easy-to-navigate buttons, and long-lasting battery life. The Spot 400 has been at the top of our list since 2012 because it’s reliable and bright enough to light the way in most indoors or outdoors situations. The weather-resistant headlamp also has several options including Brightness Memory mode, a red light, a proximity floodlight, and strobes.

Flashlight

A flashlight is a necessary tool for any task within your home or in case of emergency or power outage. The ThruNite Archer 2A V3 has the widest range of brightness settings of any AA-battery-powered light we tested. It includes a very dim mode, which allowed us to read a map during testing without obstructing our night vision, and a bright setting that illuminates 500 feet away, rather than a phone flashlight that helps you see 3 feet ahead. The blinding strobe mode is useful in an emergency, and the Archer 2A V3’s design makes it easy to avoid activating the strobe during regular use, an advantage over most competitors.

Home security system

A home security system can secure your new home and ensure peace of mind as you settle in. The Ring Alarm Pro is the most comprehensive DIY home security system we’ve tested. It’s easy to set up and use and customizable, with a large selection of compatible add-ons. The Ring Alarm Pro has a built-in Eero Wi-Fi 6 router, which means the base station can both serve as the brains of your security system and replace your current Wi-Fi router. The Eero router also provides backup internet access via a cellular connection in case of a power or internet outage. If you already have a mesh Wi-Fi network, don’t want one, or don’t need a backup internet, opt for the original Ring Alarm system instead for a cheaper price.

Indoor camera

An indoor security camera lets you keep tabs on the things at home that matter most. For less than $50, the Eufy Solo IndoorCam C24 offers many storage options and detects motion, people, pets, and even crying. It also includes live viewing and some local recording that produces crisp 2K video day or night. The camera has four ways to store footage, including a microSD card and cloud storage. The Solo IndoorCam C24 is also lightweight, which makes it easy to mount anywhere without sacrificing durability. It’s compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Assistant.

Lockbox

Losing a key to a new home can be the biggest headache. However, a secure lockbox to store spare keys can help you with that issue. The Kidde AccessPoint KeySafe is an affordable lockbox that’s hard to defeat by force or guile. It has the most secure exterior you can get in a consumer model, a tight-fitting door, and unique sloped sidewalls that nicely deflect hammers and cold chisels. This lockbox is not only hard to break into by force but also exceptionally hard to break into by skill. For less than $50, you can’t find another model like it unless you spend more than $400 for a professional kit.

Door locks

If you are skeptical of your new house’s front door locks, a new deadbolt lock could be the best solution. The Schlage B60N single-cylinder deadbolt is the best lock for most people’s front doors. It is extremely difficult to lockpick, and it’s affordable, easy to find, simple to install, and widely recommended. This model has the highest certifications available for resistance to forced entry, as it is rated Grade 1 by the American National Standards Institute and the Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association. It has passed the same hammering, prying, sawing, picking, and kicking tests as the toughest high-security locks that Schlage produces.

Furnace and air conditioner filters

As you become comfortable in your living space, keep in mind what you’re breathing in at home. A medium-efficiency MERV filter like the Nordic Pure MERV 12 greatly reduces airborne dust, mold spores, pollen, and even smoke, and doing that can help ease respiratory ailments. Nordic Pure filters are competitively priced and easy to find online. At the recommended three-month replacement cycle, the MERV 12 filter can save you about $30 to $40 a year. They are available in many sizes, making it easy to find one that fits your return vent opening.

Home air-quality monitor

If you become concerned about the air quality inside your new home, the first thing we suggest you do is measure what’s in the air outside, because outdoor conditions often determine indoor conditions. Home air-quality monitors are limited in their abilities and reliability. Yet the simplest way to do that is to use the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow mobile app. The AirNow app is available free on iOS and Android. AirNow’s air-quality readings come from direct measurements by hundreds of monitors around the US which are searchable by zip code or place name and presented on a map; it has an air-quality forecast as well as to real-time data. AirNow offers you the simplest way to get the info and interpret what it means without bombarding you with ads the whole time.

Safety glasses

Safety glasses might not be on the top of your list (or on your list at all) as you move into your new place, but maybe they should be. Though they’re common in construction sites and metal shops, they are also extremely helpful for countless activities around the home, from yard work to dusting ceiling fans. Glasses like our pick the Radians MR0111ID Mirage protect your beautiful eyes when dusting off a high shelf or weeding outside, which often send debris and surprise objects flying directly into your face. Along with being the lightest and cheapest safety glasses we tested, the MR0111ID model offered some of the best protection and comfort. They also stood out as testers barely noticed they were wearing these glasses after the first few minutes. One tester spent close to five minutes looking for them before realizing they were still on his face, which makes these glasses the perfect candidate for your daily chores.

Water-leak detector

The last thing you want to experience is severe water damage in your new home. A smart water-leak sensor like the D-Link DCH-S1621KT Whole Home Smart Wi-Fi Water Leak Sensor Kit is for anyone who is worried about small leaks turning into big ones—as well as anyone who may not have leaks in the forefront of their thoughts, but doesn’t want to discover a flooded room in their home, either. The D-Link kit combines the best capabilities in leak sensors into one bundle. It includes a plug-in hub, a removable 19-inch water-sensing cable, and a 38-inch extension cord to lengthen that cable’s reach. The kit also comes with a matchbox-size remote battery-operated sensor that connects wirelessly to the hub from up to 300 feet away. The D-Link kit can connect with up to 16 add-on sensors that respond quickly when it senses water or if it loses power, and it features a loud siren—94 dB, by our measurements.

This article was edited by Harry Sawyers and Christine Cyr Clisset.