With the weather heating up and June rapidly fading away, it can only mean one thing. The summer holidays are coming up! It’s the most popular time of year to go away and enjoy some sun and relaxation. But whether you’re jet setting abroad or just pootling to the beach for a day trip, it’s likely your house will be left empty for an extended period of time. So while you’re planning your activities, take a minute to make sure your home will be secure as you top up your tan.
Lock Maintenance
First on the list is doing some basic lock maintenance. This is especially important for the warmer months, because the hot summer weather can cause wood and metal (especially uPVC door mechanisms) to expand. Sometimes it doesn’t make much of a difference, but in some cases, it can completely jam your windows or doors. If you try to open a door or window and it’s suddenly sticking, call a professional to perform a striker plate realignment. This will make sure they lock properly without you having to force them.
Next, give your locks and their mechanisms a good clean to get rid of any debris, and apply a dry graphite powder to lubricate them. This will keep them working properly and help stop them from sticking. If you can, make sure your external doors have anti-snap euro cylinder locks, as these will give you more protection against snapping break-ins.
Pre-Holiday Checklist
If you’re going away for a prolonged period of time, make sure you go through a pre-holiday checklist to keep everything safe. A few things we recommend include:
- Don’t hide spare keys: We know it’s tempting, but don’t leave a spare key out in the wild for someone to find. Yes, it’s easier, especially if you have someone coming into look in on the cats or to water the plants, but all of those great hiding places will be checked by opportunistic burglars. You might as well roll out a welcome mat for them! So no fake rocks, flowerpots or tucking it under the doormat. Instead, use a secure, wall-mounted combination lockbox.
- Lock sheds and garages: Any outside buildings should be locked when not being used in general, but especially when you’re away. Not because the things in them are particularly valuable (although some tools can be), but because the things in them can be used to break into your home. Ladders, cutters, hammers, you name it. And if a burglar uses your own tools to break in, some insurance companies will invalidate your claim. Secure shed and garage doors with heavy-duty hasps and closed shackle padlocks.
- Secure ground-floor windows: We know that it’s hot (and getting hotter every day), so the temptation is to leave a few windows open for ventilation. And while you’re in the house, that’s fine. But when you’re not, it provides an easy way for people to get into your home. If you need to leave the windows open, you can install cable restrictors on uPVC windows so that they can be left ajar securely, without being fully open.
- Hide valuables: Maybe don’t take the wall-mounted TV down, but make an effort to secure or hide away any obvious and easily stolen valuables. Things like games consoles, tablets, phones, jewellery and so on. Keeping them out of sight makes your home less of a target for criminals while you’re away.
- Leverage technology: Make sure you set your home security system, turn on your motion-sensor lights and check your video doorbells are working properly.
- Stop deliveries: If you have regular deliveries to your house, like a newspaper or milkman, make sure you pause them while you’re away. And try to stay off Amazon and online shopping while you’re away too! Nothing says ‘empty house’ more than a mountain of packages piling up on the doorstep.
Deter Intruders
Finally, do your best to not attract attention to the fact that your property is empty. A burglar is more likely to target a house that’s obviously empty, as there’s less chance that they’ll be interrupted. So you need to make your house look as lived-in as you can, without actually being inside. Here are a couple of ways you can do this:
Don’t post on social media! We know all you want to do is show off all the amazing things you’re doing on holiday and make all of your friends jealous. But posting your travel plans or ‘checking in’ online can leave you vulnerable because around 44% of home break-ins are committed by someone the victim is already familiar with – which means they probably follow you on social media too. So save shaping the snaps until you get home!
You can also do things to make your house look lived in. Ask a neighbour you trust or a friend to park on your driveway occasionally, and open and close your curtains. Ask neighbours if they would mind taking in any post or parcels that arrive while you’re away so they don’t pile up, and maybe even take your bins back in after collection day. Though maybe don’t ask the same neighbour to do all of it!
You can also automate your lighting. If you haven’t got it already, install motion-sensor lighting around your property, especially in dark corners of your garden so that anyone sneaking around is suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree. For inside, plug lamps into smart timers so that they turn on and off at natural hours – again, making it look like someone’s home.
If you’re worried that your home might not be secure, it’s worth getting a locksmith to check it over. Not only can we see issues you might not realise are issues, but we can give you general advice around home security for while you’re at home and away. If you’d like some help, just get in touch with the team at My Locks Locksmiths today.