Home Safety Tricks
Home is our turf. This is where we come to, after a long day at work. And this is also where so many memories in our life are made.
Unfortunately, your piece of heaven can be attractive to the wrong people as well. Thieves and burglars can break into your house, especially if you have not taken enough measures to secure it. In other words, home safety is a top priority for you, to protect your family, house and the valuable things in it.
Does that discussion sound daunting? Well, it doesn’t have to be. Here are simple tricks (in no particular order) you should know about home safety, so you can implement them right away.
Lights
Many times, we can take pride in the fact that we can walk into a dark room and find what we want!
Well, we don’t want burglars to take the same pride too. This is why it is important to use good lighting to keep our homes safe. You don’t have to keep the entire house lighted up all the time. This is, for one, a waste of electricity and second, may not be effective as we think too.
Instead, here are some simple hacks to fool burglars.
Light Your Entry Points
Driveways, pathways and all entry points to your house should have bright lights, as this could be a psychological deterrent for a burglar to enter a house. In general, burglars thrive on anonymity and their ability to sneak into a home through dark cover. With so many lights, they will be wary and would prefer to stay away.
Motion Sensor Lights
It’s a good idea to have motion sensor lights outside your house, so it can catch even the smallest of movement. Though it could be annoying at times, especially if the lights are turned on due to the movement of small animals and birds, this inconvenience is surely worth the safety of your home.
Staggered Lights
Stagger lights on timers inside your home. When lights in different rooms turn on and off, it is a sign that someone is inside the house, even if the house is empty. Again, when a burglar believes that the house is occupied, the chances to enter it is greatly reduced.
A combination of these lighting ideas is sure to prevent burglars from even attempting to enter your home.
Doors and Windows
Doors and windows are another aspect you should secure inside the house because they are the likely entry points for your burglar, unless he/she chooses to climb down a sooty chimney!
You can use a range of doors and windows hacks to secure your house. Below are some ideas to get you started.
Metal Bars
Statistics shows that burglars break into many homes by force fully pushing the door or window. To avoid this opportunity for burglars, keep a metal or wooden bar in the bottom track of your sliding doors and windows. This will prevent any forceful opening.
Door Quality
Never compromise on the quality of your front door. make sure it is solid wood, durable and can withstand multiple hits by burglars.
Deadbolt or Dead Lock
Use a deadbolt or a dead lock for the front door. If you’re unsure what this means, a deadbolt or a dead lock is a locking mechanism that cannot be opened without rotating the right key. This is safer than the spring bolt lock system, in which, a piece of metal extends from the door to the frame and helps to keep it locked. The spring lock can be opened with force, whereas a deadbolt cannot be opened easily.
Spare Key Location
Many of us are paranoid about getting locked out, so we tend to keep a spare key outside the house, and in most cases, in an obvious location. Well, burglars are experienced enough to know the possible areas where we tend to keep a spare key. So, they can simply take the key, walk into your house, take what they want and leave!
It’s best to avoid keeping spare keys outside your house. It is better getting locked out than entering into a burgled house.
Take Your Keys With You
Some of us have the habit of just closing the door without locking it, especially if we’re going for short errands or if our partner has forgotten to take the keys. This is never safe. Always make it a point to lock the house and take the keys with you. There is a workaround for everything else.
Security Screens
Fit good quality security screens on your doors and windows to prevent trespassers from breaking into your home. This is all the more important if you have glass insets in doors or windows that surround an entry point.
These security measures can go a long way in sealing the entry point for burglars, so they are forced to go away.
Protect Your Belongings
In the unfortunate event of a break-in, make sure that the burglar doesn’t access any of your important belongings such as documents, heirlooms, memorable photographs and more. One way to protect these important things is to store them in a home safe, preferably one that is fire and water proof. In fact, a home safe may be a worthwhile investment, especially if you have to store many important documents.
Here are some things you can store in a home safe.
- Documents like passports, social security cards and insurance documents.
- The original copy of your will
- Memorable photographs and even old-world camera negatives.
- Magnetic tape recordings or electronic storage media.
- Heirlooms and precious jewelry like your mother’s ring.
Security Systems
Having a security system is mandatory for your home safety. Do some research on different alarm systems before buying, as it can help you decide the level of security you need and the features your alarm system should have.
It is recommended to install a security system with motion sensor video camera, so you can see footages of who has visited your place. It is even better if the footages are emailed to you instead of just having everything on a tape.
Travel Precautions
If you’re going away on a holiday, take some measures to protect your home.
Some things you can do in this regard are:
- Request your neighbors to park their extra cars in your driveway, so burglars will not know you’re traveling.
- Never put up your travel plans on social media, as you can be an easy target for robbery.
- Ask a friend to take your mail.
- Stop the delivery of newspapers and magazines when you’re not in town.
These measures can go a long way in keeping your home safe when you’re not around.
Dogs
Dogs not only make great pets, but they can also scare away burglars. Whether you have a dog or not, put up a “beware of dog” sign at the front gate. Also, install a system that mimics a dog’s bark. These measures will create a psychological barrier for burglars.
Trees and Bushes
Though trees and bushes spruce up the looks of your exteriors, it can also be a perfect hiding spot for burglars. This doesn’t mean you should never have trees on your yard, rather what it means is that keep your bushes trimmed. Never leave large areas of thick greenery that could conceal a person.
Another related suggestion is to have thorny plants right under your windows to create a natural barrier for burglars and to make it difficult for them to jump in or out through the window.
Children Safety
If you have children at home, teach them the basics of safety. While there are a ton of things related to children safety, let’s look at some of the most important ones.
- Teach your children never to open the front door.
- Help them get familiar with your home address and phone numbers.
- Train them on how to reach out for help in case of an emergency.
- Never let them interact with strangers, especially when they are planning in the yard or on the street.
Interior Safety
Besides protecting your home from burglars, you should also do everything you can to prevent any fire-related hazards inside the house. Here are some tricks to keep away from this danger.
- Install smoke detectors in different parts of your house and ensure that they work.
- Likewise, install carbon monoxide detectors as well.
- Keep a fire extinguisher handy
- Put up barriers around your pool to prevent accidental drowning
- Register your appliances, so you’ll be notified of any safety recalls
- Check power cords on a regular basis and unplug appliances when they are not in use
- Hire an expert, at least once every year, to check your electrical wiring.
Clear Debris
Never leave any unused pieces of wood or other debris after a renovation, as these could make it easy for burglars to break into your home. Clear them right away.
We hope the above tricks can help you to protect your home.
