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Tips to keep your home safe this long weekend
Dial Direct has made 10 tips available to secure your home before leaving for holiday.
- Mow your lawn. Overgrown grass on your pavement is a sure sign to any would-be robbers that you’re not there.
- Get someone to collect your post. Once again, an overflowing post box is a sure sign that nobody is home and an open invitation for criminal activity on your premises.
- Turn off your geyser and any other plugs that do not need to be on while you are not there. This will save you money and is more eco-friendly.
- Make sure that someone close by like a neighbour has your contact details in case they need to get hold of you in an emergency.
- Alert your security company that you will be away so that they know to check your house is secure more often than usual.
- Lock all doors and potential entry points and turn your alarm system on.
- Do not leave jewellery, gadgets and other valuables lying around. This includes laptops, phones, passports and spare keys.
- Check you have your purse as well as all the documents, vouchers and reservation numbers you might need for your holiday.
- Make sure that your home contents insurance is up to date. Remember that if you were to suffer a break-in while you were on holiday and you had not secured your home properly, your insurance could be deemed invalid – so taking the time to do this really is important.
- Empty your freezer. There’s nothing worse than coming back from holiday to find your fridge smelling and full of rotten food.
