Tips to keep your home safe while on festive vacation
To help create the illusion that your home is still occupied, invest in timers that turn on the interior lights for a few hours every evening.
It is that time of the year when a majority of home owners will be leaving the comforts of their homes for the festive season vacations. It is important to ensure that your home is safe while you are away.
Here are tips on how to keep your home safe while away:
1. Neighbours watch – Telling your neighbours that you won’t be around and requesting them to keep an eye on your property is a must, if you are planning to go away.
2. Leave your contact details with your neighbours, where they can easily get hold of you when they see something suspicious.
3. Have someone in the area to check your house from time to time. Whether it’s a neighbor or relative, nothing beats having a person checking your premises while you are away. Someone who will temporarily water the plants, feed the pets and pick up newspapers while you are away.
4. Make your home look lively; don’t close your blinds when you leave for vacation if you usually keep them open. The more normal your home looks, the better.
5. Home owners are also advised to liaise with their police sector managers or security companies around their area to patrol around their homes while they are away and to supply them with all necessary information regarding nearby key holders, in case of an emergency.
6. Stop all newspaper deliveries and ask a friend or neighbour to collect your post. A bulging post box is a dead giveaway that you are not at home.
7. Double check that you have locked and secured all windows and doors before leaving home
8.Having security gates fitted on outer doors is a highly effective security measure that gives you an extra line of defence.
9.Sliding doors can be secured simply by placing a piece of timber cut to size in the sliding rail. Make sure that sliding doors cannot be lifted vertically
