Alexandra Locksmiths would like to offer some advice to help you with home security during the Summer months. Whilst keeping your home and/or business premises as secure as possible is a year round job, there are some specific security issues that could present themselves in the warmer weather.
Lock your Windows
If you are going out for the day, shut and lock all of your windows. Not just the windows on the ground floor. Leaving a bedroom window open all day to air the room whilst it’s hot, is an open advert to any potential burglar. Ensure that you lock the window as well as shutting it fully, to protect your home as much as possible. For an added level of security, consider having security grilles fitted to your windows and doors.
Lock your Front Door
In the Summer months, many of us enjoy/need to spend the whole day in the garden. If you are busy hedge trimming in your back garden, would you hear somebody walk into your home? Probably not. In which case, lock the front door whilst you are working in the garden. That way you are leaving your property secured, when you aren’t available to hear the door from inside.
Secure your Shed
Having good security in place on your shed door, is really important. Many of us have expensive items of garden machinery and tools stored in the shed. Consequently, a strong padlock and chain is a must for the door. If you have a window in your shed, cover the window up from the inside. That way, prying eyes can’t evaluate the contents of your garden shed.
Going on Holiday
If you are lucky enough to enjoy a Summer holiday, it is worth taking some time to prepare for security around your home before you go away. The key to leaving the building as secure as possible, is to make it appear that you are actually still at home.
Setting up a selection of table lamps and plugging them into timer switches (set to different times of operation) is worthwhile. If possible get a trusted friend/neighbour to pop in and open and close your curtains each day. Also, ask them to collect your post and put out of the way so a collection of mail doesn’t build up on your door mat. Any hanging baskets/potted plants will need watering. If you can’t ask anyone to help with this, then at least move them out of view of the front of your property for the period you are away.
Never advertise on social media platforms that you are away on holiday!
This may sound obvious but on a daily basis we see posts from individuals stating that they are on holiday and sometimes even saying how long they are away for! If your privacy settings allow, a would be thief could easily find out where your home address is. If you have posted that you are away for a fortnight, the potential burglar would then know exactly how much time they have to steal from your home without being disturbed.
Should you require any further help and assistance regarding home security, then please do not hesitate to contact us. You can also read our security advice page.
Alexandra Locksmiths can be contacted on 020 8883 1555 or 020 8364 2000. Follow us onTwitter, Facebook or Google+ for more security tips, or subscribe to our RSS feedfor regular updates.
With thanks for the photo of the shed to Tenchi – Public Domain and to AyianapaProtaras for the photo of a holiday in Cyprus under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.