Spring is the time for April showers and May flowers. But by the time we hit June, our attentions have turned to summer vacation. With those thought of lazy summer days spent doing nothing come plenty of tips for keeping your home secure while you’re away. You have heard them all before. Nonetheless, they are worth revisiting before you hit the road this year.
The key to keeping your home secure is making sure that no one knows you are gone. To that end, Vivint Smart Home offers some of the best tips in the business:
Install Home Security
Home security really is a deterrent against property crimes. Survey after survey reveals that burglars would rather hit homes left unprotected. If they see video surveillance cameras or a placard from a mainline home security provider, they will think twice about hitting that home. They would rather move on to a less secure property.
A good home security system includes window and door sensors on the first floor along with strategically placed video surveillance cameras. It should be monitored as well, so that someone will be made aware in the event of an attempted break in.
Program Your Lighting
Programming your lighting to give the appearance that someone is moving around the house goes a long way toward making it look like you are home. With today’s home automation and smart lighting, doing so is easier than ever before. You can program various lighting scenes and then let them run automatically. And if need be, you can adjust them remotely.
Ask a Friend to Help
In addition to technology, enlisting the help of a friend or neighbor goes a long way toward maintaining security. Have that friend or neighbor stop by and check your home several times while you’re away. Better yet, ask the friend to come stay in your home during that time. If that is not possible, the friend should at least take in your mail, put out your garbage, water the plants, and do other things that give the appearance that you are still there.
Skip Social Media
One of the absolute worst things you can do while on vacation is to track your trip in real time on social media. If you are posting vacation shots and descriptions for all the world to see, you are telegraphing to the criminals in your town that you are not around. You are almost inviting them to pay a visit. If you must post to social media, wait till you get home.
Fire and Flood Tips
Home security is mostly about burglary while you are away on vacation. But do not forget other threats. If you have a monitored home security system, be sure to put fresh batteries in the smoke detector before you hit the road. If a fire breaks out while you’re away, you want the smoke alarm to alert your monitoring provider as quickly as possible.
Where flood protection is concerned, consider installing a couple of sensors on the lowest level of your home. Around the clock monitoring will reveal any water as the result of flash flooding, a ruptured water tank, etc. You will be able to contact someone and get them over to look at your home right away.
Summer is made for travel. It is made for getting out there and seeing new places, meeting new people, and making a lifetime of memories. Just be sure to secure your home before you leave. Otherwise, what should have been a fantastic vacation could end up being a nightmare. That is the last thing you want.
