10 Essential Home Safety Tips

Your home is your greatest financial investment and a place where you and your family should feel safe. If you’re like many people, however, you might neglect to take some simple steps to keep your house secure against break-ins. Review the list below and give some thought to changes you can make to sleep more soundly.

1. Don’t Leave a Key Outside

Out of convenience, you may have a house key under your doormat or a potted plant. Burglars will take a quick look for easy entry if they sense your home is unoccupied. Give a key to a neighbour or bury an extra key in a plastic bag in a discreet place in the backyard, if you must. Even better, chat with one of our security specialists about the new Z-Wave lock sets that can be remotely controlled through a convenient app! If you forget your key, or need to provide someone else with access to your home while you’re away, you can let them in no matter where you are … and we’re sure they’d appreciate not having to dig around your garden for that elusive hidden key too!

2. Don’t Post Whereabouts on Social Media

Turns out most burglars do their deeds during the day while families are at work. Don’t give them extra info by advertising your vacation on Instagram. Remember, hashtags aren’t private, and location tags can be searched.

3. Don’t Give Thieves Somewhere to Hide

Hedges may provide respite from street noise and prying eyes, but they also shield burglars from sight. Consider more open landscaping that looks attractive but exposes people up to no good.

4. Keep Alarm Away From the Window

If you install an alarm to protect your house from a burglary, make sure the alarm isn’t anywhere near a window. Thieves can look in, break the glass, and disarm the alarm before they ever enter your home. For your personal safety, install the alarm controls somewhere out of sight – and if you need to move an existing panel, just give us a call. Our installation technicians would be happy to reposition your Damar Security alarm to a better location.

5. Replace Panes of Glass at the Front Door

Glass around your entryway may be visually appealing. But with the right tools, a thief can smash a window and turn the door handle to enter your home. Consider a different aesthetic or secure the glass with bars.

6. Have a Neighbour Collect the Mail

Free circulars, subscriptions and snail mail will all gather on the front step while you are on vacation. Prevent this evidence of your absence by pausing delivery or tasking a neighbor with picking up your mail.

7. Use Digital Timers to Keep the Lights On

Thieves who scope your home will notice if one light is left on the home 24 hours a day. Instead, use a timer to turn your lights on and off while you are away to give a better illusion that someone is home. Even better, we offer Z-Wave modules that allow you to turn on lights and lamps remotely!

8. Install Bright Outdoor Lighting

Burglars like to hide, and darkness usually gives them the cover they need. Install bright, motion-sensor lights that wake up the household when someone is outside your home.

9. Lock Doors and Windows

In the summer, it’s tempting to keep windows open and doors ajar. However, this is a big security hazard, as thieves can simply walk in when the home is quiet. Remember to not only close, but lock, all entryways to your house.

10. Don’t Leave a Ladder Outside

Are you used to leaving an attic window ajar, thinking no one can reach it? Take a quick look at your hardware items in the backyard. Put a ladder inside and block any routes through which someone can climb to the attic to break in.
Your home is your sanctuary. Break-ins not only cause financial loss, but make residents of your house feel unsafe. By being aware and a little extra cautious, you can prevent a crime that would make you and your loved ones feeling vulnerable.