Thursday, 21 August 2014
In today’s busy world we all make mistakes when it comes to making sure our homes are secure. It could be that you are running late for work and you forgot to close the bathroom window before you left.
Our experts have compiled a list of 10 of the most commonly made home security mistakes and how you can prevent them from turning into serious problems. You’ll be shocked that some people make these mistakes, make sure you’re not one of them:
- Using cheap locks – There is a lot of choice when it comes to door locks so it can be hard to know which are the best. Our advice would be don’t just go for the cheapest option as some can be snapped open by thieves in only 13 seconds without making much noise. It might not even wake you up if you are sleeping upstairs. We’d recommend choosing one a new anti-snap cylinder which prevents with from happening.
- Leaving back or side doors unlocked – we’ve all done this, left a door unlocked as we’ve just nipped to the shop or to visit a neighbour. This is an opportunity that thieves will strike upon. Also be careful not to leave doors unlocked if you are working or watching tv upstairs as again opportunistic thieves will take the chance and grab what they can.
- Hiding a key – whether it is under the door mat, a plant pot or a rock if you leave a key out in the open you are asking for trouble. Thieves will check these hiding places first so if you do leave a spare key here it will be found. If you do require somewhere secure to leave a key outside then we’d recommend a Key Store.
- Leaving ladders in the garden – you may have been using ladders to help you cut the top of the hedge at the weekend but it will surprise you that many don’t put the ladders away. By leaving them lying in your garden you are effectively giving a burglar an easy route to access your second floor and any open windows. Don’t make it easy for them, ensure you put your ladders back into your locked shed or garage.
- Not setting your home alarm – similar to point 2, when you’re just nipping out you might not bother setting the alarm but you really need to set it every time you leave the house. Firstly as they are excellent burglar deterrents and secondly in some cases your insurance claims won’t be valid as you didn’t set the alarm.
- Unlocked garages – a large number of people simply shut the garage door and assume that is enough but you really need to lock it too. Thieves will try the handle and if it’s open they’ll think its Christmas as they’ll get easy access to your car. Or if like a lot of people these days you use your garage as a storage area and not for the car it means you are giving thieves access to items which they can carry away easily in their arms.
- Leaving valuables in plain sight – the most common items that are left in plain sight are car keys. After coming in the house a lot of people leave their keys by the door (on a hook or in a tray) and by doing this you are asking for trouble. If a thief can see your keys they will be willing to smash a window to access them.
- Social media posts about your location – be careful about telling people about your holiday or weekend plans on Facebook and Twitter as you could be alerting burglars to an empty house and their next target.
- Leaving house too dark/light when on holiday – leaving your house in the dark whilst you are away is another flag to burglars. However so is leaving lights on a timer for two weeks as they will become wise to this. We’d recommend looking into apps (like INSTEON) which can vary the times the lights go off and on so they don’t follow a particular pattern each day.
- Revealing rubbish left by the bins – if you’ve just bought a new tv or laptop don’t leave the boxes by your bins as they are effectively acting as adverts for what is inside your home to steal. It’s always best to take packaging like this directly to the tip.
We hope you have found these tips useful and remember don’t make it easy for thieves!
Author: Paul Young
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