So you’ve finally decided to go on that much-needed holiday. You can already see yourself lying on the beach, shaded by giant palm trees with the cool waves gently lapping at your feet, and the warm, golden rays of the sun on your bare shoulders. Ah! Perfection: a life (at least for the moment) without any worries and you’re sure that after your break, you’ll have a big cache of lovely memories to cherish and look back fondly on.
Before you start day dreaming your way to the airport, get your head out of the clouds for a moment and face reality. Going on a vacation, though it is fun, also entails a lot of preparation. Not only do you need to take care of your travel and accommodations there, you need to take care of your accommodations here. Yes, before you leave, you have to make sure that after your trip, you’ll still have a lovely home to return to.
The film, Home Alone gave people a light-hearted view of burglaries. It showed how burglars usually work: scoping the area, looking for homes to break in to and waiting for the perfect opportunity to do their dastardly deed, naturally when everyone is away and the house is empty. In the film, a wily and ingenious child thwarted the robbers by using tricks involving buckets of paint and flame torches. You don’t need those, however, getting the services of professional security agencies, like ADT Security, is ideal to keep your home safe. Here are some security tips to keep in mind before your home security system is in place.
Keeping your home safe from thieves
Even if you’re excited about leaving for the Bahamas for a week-long break, try to contain your exuberance and keep the details of your vacation secret. Not that you don’t want to share your happiness, you just don’t want other people to know that your home will be empty for that period of time. If you have to tell someone about your plans, choose who to trust. If you live in an apartment complex, tell the landlord. If you live in a house, tell only your next-door neighbor. If anyone not closely connected to you makes small talk about the long weekend and your plans, just smile and keep mum.
A week before leaving the house, check all doors and windows. Look for loose hinges or defective locks. If you notice anything amiss, have these fixed immediately. Don’t wait until the last minute to make any repairs. Later, just before you step out of your home, ensure that all windows, even those in the gables and the cellar, are tightly shut; and the doors, also the doggie doors, are locked. Don’t give intruders a chance to enter the premises. Once they see an opening, no matter how small, they will use it to their advantage. Once you have your ADT security alarm system is activated, you should also practice arming and disarming as this should be the last thing you should do when leaving for vacation.
There’s actually another reason why it’s important to seal your home when you’re leaving. You don’t want birds, ferrets, and other small animals to lay claim to your property while you’re away, do you?
Lights are good deterrents. If you’ll be gone for just a few days, it may be okay to leave the porch lights on. If you’ll be out for a significant amount of time, it would be better if you invested on timers that can automatically turn lights on or off. If this is way beyond your budget, leave a key to your home with a relative or a trusted neighbor and ask that she turn the porch lights on and off regularly. Ask too if she can collect your mail and your newspapers. Nothing screams “empty house” more than an overflowing mailbox and a pile of unread newspapers on your lawn.
Keeping your home safe from “accidents”
When you leave your home for an extended period of time, you not only make sure that it is “burglar-free”; it should also be “accident-free”. Days before your departure, check your plumbing. Look for leaks or clogs and have these attended to immediately. Have a certified electrician check all your wirings. Clean out your gutters and throw out your trash. These may seem unnecessary but it is better to be prepared.
When you’re about to leave, have a final walk through and make sure that, as you leave each room of your house, you have unplugged all the unnecessary electrical appliances (computers, television sets, radios, hair dryers, irons, etc) and turned off all the lights. Go through all the toilets, washrooms, and bathrooms. Check the faucets and make sure that all these are closed. If you have combustible items, place these in the cellar, away from direct sunlight. Eye catching expensive items such as jewelries, should be kept in safe and not readily visible places.
Finally, if you have a pet and cannot bring him along with you, entrust him to a neighbor or a friend. Aside from beloved Fido, leave your contact details with them and a close relative too. They should be able to contact you if there are any emergencies. ADT home security systems also come packaged with a motion-sensor that is pet-friendly.
Once you’ve checked and double-checked everything, you’re now really ready to go on that vacation. You can rest, assured that you’ve left your home safe, secure and in good hands. So kick up your feet, order that daiquiri, relax and enjoy. God knows you truly deserve it.