How to Secure Your Home During Summer
Summer is the ideal time to truly unwind and enjoy some well-deserved sunshine and a couple of fun swimming sessions with family and friends. However, one particular aspect that should still keep you on the edge during the warm season is related to the security of your home. Never let your guard down unnder any circumstances. When it comes to home safety in the summer, as this is the time of the year when most burglaries are recorded. Opportunist thieves are well-aware of the fact that most people choose to go on vacation in the summer. Lots of them either forget to lock all their doors and windows or intentionally leave some windows open in an attempt to let some fresh air and sun-rays in while they are chilling inside the house at night. The most common ways home burglars use to make their way into a property are the front door or a ground-floor window that has been left unlocked or open. Using your common sense and staying vigilant at all costs means considerably lowering the risk of your home being broken into in the summer. Here are a few useful tips on how to accomplish this without too much hassle and effort.
Beef Up Security On Your Home
- Cut the chances of your home being broken into with the help of some additional protection measures. For instance, if your front door does not have a sturdy, commercial-grade deadbolt lock installed, you may want to get in touch with a local locksmith and have them replace your old, rusty or faulty locks on all entryways.
- Fit small-keyed locks on your windows or at least consider installing security bars or grills on all of your ground-floor windows to no one can get in through there.
- Avoid using the windows and doors to let some fresh and cool air in during scorching summer days. It may be tempting, but you should instead use your A/C system, especially at night, when going to sleep.
- Never leave the front or back door unlocked and open during the summer while bringing fresh lemonades to the kids at the pool or to chase down the ice-cream truck down the street. It only takes a brief second for someone to sneak into your house and remain hidden until nighttime.
Install A Reliable Home Security System
With so many different types of home alarms and home security systems to choose from at the moment, you may be having a more difficult time deciding upon one or the other. If this is the case, you can either do some research online or get in touch with a local locksmith and have him assess your exact needs and make the best recommendations. You could opt for a smart system that allows you to keep an eye on the inside as well as the outside of your home from any remote location. These alarms usually send real-time notification on your phone or computer whenever there is any suspicious activity recorded by the system. Plus, they can also alert a private security company or the local police department. This means the authorities could immediately reach your place and check things out even though you might be away on vacation.
Choose Advanced Video Doorbells
You could also opt for a video doorbell that records images and broadcast them in real-time. You will always know who is knocking on your door and be able to carry out conversations with them. These video doorbells can usually be connected to different home automation systems you might be using, which means you will be able to control them using more than one device.
Consider Installing Smart Locks
Most of the smart lock options you can currently find on the market can be added to existing deadbolts, which means you should not have to worry about any extra installation hassle. Such a lock will allow you to issue a unique passcode to any home guests, a pet sitter or your maid while you are away on vacation, but would still like to have them enter your home. These passcodes are temporary and they will become inactive after the time interval that you have selected.
Keep Your Summer Vacation Plans To Yourself
We are all tempted to share every little thing that we do throughout the day using our social media platforms. When it comes to vacation destinations, the temptation is even bigger. However, you should consider never revealing the exact date and time when you are going to leave your home and go on that exotic vacation. Why? Simply because you will be serving neighborhood burglars all the information they will need to plan their break-in. Try to disable GPS tracking on your phone, as well as on your social media accounts. Try to never post any relevant details concerning the locations you are visiting and only allow your friends and people you know to see your new posts.
Organize Your Garage And Backyard
Try to keep any bikes, expensive toys or TV and home appliance boxes away from the curious eyes of passers-by. Place everything inside your garage and keep it locked at all times. See that there are no laptops or sports gear lying around your backyard, on tables or in the grass. Summer is a great time to be laid back and spend more time in nature. However, this does not also mean being reckless and not guarding your prized possessions as best as you can. We also highly recommend you to install the most reliable garage and garden shed locks on the doors for enhanced protection. We can assist you with shopping for a new lock and we can also install any type of lock for you with zero risks and hassle. Finally, keep in mind to check if your home insurance is up-to-date during the summer. Opt for the best insurance plan that you can afford so in case a dreaded break-in occurs, you can recover most of your loss.