A yearly home safety audit is a short list with high stakes: replace smoke and carbon monoxide alarms past their printed lifespan, check the fire extinguisher gauge, clear the dryer vent, test the garage door's auto-reverse, and confirm you can shut off the water. None of it needs special tools, and each item is a known cause of fire, poisoning, or water damage.
Quick home safety audit checklist
- Replace smoke and CO alarms past the date on the label.
- Check the fire extinguisher pressure gauge.
- Deep-clean the dryer vent duct.
- Test the garage door's auto-reverse and photo-eye.
- Find and exercise the main water shutoff.
- Test radon levels.
- Restock the first-aid kit.
- Replace aging surge protectors.
- Have the chimney swept and inspected.
Replace alarms past their lifespan
Smoke alarms are built to be replaced at the date printed on the back, generally 10 years; combination smoke and carbon monoxide units often sooner, around 7 years. The sensors degrade whether or not the alarm has ever sounded. Check the manufacture date on every unit, replace the ones that have aged out, and test the rest with the button.
Check the fire extinguisher
Glance at the pressure gauge (the needle should sit in the green) and look for a cracked hose, clogged nozzle, corrosion, or a missing pin. That monthly visual check is the only part you do yourself. Recharging, hydrostatic testing, and internal service are a certified technician's job, and a disposable extinguisher that's been discharged or is out of date gets replaced, not refilled. NFPA 10 sets the standard.
Deep-clean the dryer vent
Lint builds up in the duct behind the dryer and at the exterior vent, and failure to clean is the leading factor in the roughly 2,900 dryer fires US fire departments report each year. Clean the lint screen every load and clear the full duct yearly, sooner if loads need two cycles, the dryer runs hot, or the outside vent flap barely opens.
Test the garage door's auto-reverse
Openers made since 1993 must reverse when the door meets an obstruction. Lay a 1.5-inch object flat on the floor in the door's path (a roll of paper towels works) and close the door; it should reverse within about two seconds of touching it. Then wave a foot through the photo-eye beam as it closes to confirm that reverses it too. The CPSC recommends testing monthly.
Test the main water shutoff
Find the main valve, near the meter, where the line enters the house, or in a basement or crawlspace, and turn it fully off and back on so it doesn't seize. A working shutoff is the difference between a mopped floor and a flooded one when a supply line or the water heater lets go.
Test radon levels
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the US after smoking, and it's colorless and odorless, so a test is the only way to know. A DIY short-term kit runs about $15 to $30. The EPA's action level is 4 pCi/L; at or above that, have a certified contractor install mitigation. Retest every few years and after any foundation or HVAC work.
Restock the first-aid kit
Open the kit once a year and replace what's missing, used, or expired: adhesive bandages, gauze, tape, antiseptic, gloves, and any medications. A kit you raided for a splinter in July isn't ready for the next real emergency.
Replace aging surge protectors
The protective parts inside a surge protector wear down with each surge they absorb, so a strip that's taken a few years of hits may still power your gear while no longer protecting it. Many have an indicator light that goes dark when the protection is gone. Replace plug-in strips every few years or after a major surge. Whole-house surge protection at the panel is an electrician's job.
Sweep and inspect the chimney
NFPA 211 calls for a chimney inspection every year, whether or not you use the fireplace much. Creosote buildup in the flue is a chimney-fire risk, and a blocked flue can push carbon monoxide back into the house. Have a CSIA-certified sweep do the inspection and cleaning rather than working on the roof or in the flue yourself.
Good maintenance rhythm
The checklist gets you through the audit once. Fire, carbon monoxide, and water damage are the failures that hurt most when they happen, so keep up the rhythm year-round, not just at the yearly audit.
- Monthly: test smoke and CO alarms, glance at the fire-extinguisher gauge, and test the garage door auto-reverse.
- Every load: clean the dryer lint screen.
- Yearly: deep-clean the dryer vent, exercise the main water shutoff, and restock the first-aid kit.
- Yearly: have a CSIA-certified sweep inspect the chimney.
- At the date on the label: replace smoke alarms around 10 years, combo CO units sooner.
- Every few years: retest radon and replace aging surge protectors.