7 Home Safety Mistakes Most Homeowners Make
Every 15 seconds, a home burglary occurs in the United States. Unfortunately, many of these burglaries are successful because homeowners don’t have the right kind of home safety plan in place. Whether you leave a window unlocked or forget to close the garage door, your home is constantly at risk of a break-in without a home security system.
To help you stay ahead and keep your home protected, let’s address some of the most common security mistakes most homeowners make and may not even realize it.
1. Hiding a Spare Key
If you find yourself losing your keys often, then you’re not alone. However, that doesn’t mean you should leave a spare key hidden for anyone to find. One of the oldest mistakes in the book is keeping a spare key hidden outside your door. Burglars know all the common hiding places – like under the mat or in a bush, so it’s best to avoid this at all costs. Instead, consider installing smart locks to use for you and your family. Easily come and go with access codes that you can change and get real-time mobile alerts when doors have been unlocked.
2. Keeping Your Home Dark at Night
If you go to bed or head out for the night and turn off the lights, then your home is at an increased risk of a break-in. Whether you’re home or not, darkly lit homes can be an invitation for a break-in since it’s hard to be seen. Smart lighting around your home can be a great way to make it seem like you’re home even when you’re not. Using Guardian Alarm’s smart home system, you can program your lights to turn on at certain times and turn them off from anywhere using the MyGuardianAlarm mobile app.
To add additional protection for your home at night, you can install outdoor cameras to keep watch of your home 24/7. The MyGuardianAlarm mobile app also allows you to see live and recorded camera footage and sends you mobile alerts when people, animals, or vehicles are detected.
3. Leaving Home with the Garage Door Open
On a busy day, it can be easy to leave your home and forget to close the garage door. Leaving your garage door open even for a few minutes still presents the opportunity for criminals to break into your home. Guardian Alarm’s smart home system will send you an alert allowing you to close your garage door with one touch. You can even program your system to operate based on your smartphone’s location. So, even if you miss the alert reminding you to close the door, it’ll automatically close once you’re 20 feet away from your home.
4. DIY Home Safety
Although DIY security may seem like a good option, it doesn’t offer the same level of protection as a professionally installed and monitored security system. With Guardian Alarm, our professional team will design, install, monitor, and maintain your home security system from the start. Self-monitored systems are also unreliable in an emergency.
Guardian Alarm’s 24/7 monitoring center immediately contacts your local police, fire, or E.M.S. when a break-in occurs or if fire, water, and other dangers are present in your home. Plus, many DIY security systems can have poor network connections, creating increased dead zones, software crashes, and potential for hacking.
5. Social Media Posts on Vacation
In the age of social media, sharing photos on vacation may often include the destination that you’re visiting. Unfortunately, this can pose a risk of a break-in as it’s clear that you’re not home and may not be back for some time. Criminals can follow your posts on social media and use this information to their advantage. We recommend holding off on posting your vacation photos until after you’ve returned. Also, if you’re going away for a while, make sure you put a pause on your mail delivery or have someone you know to retrieve it.
6. Visible Valuables Through Your Windows
Avoid displaying your valuable possessions through your windows. As a test, look through your windows from the outside to see if any valuables are visible, such as electronics, family heirlooms, or other expensive items. When you’re not home, draw your shades and curtains for more privacy or move your valuables to an area where they aren’t visible from your windows.
Additionally, it’s wise to keep your most expensive possessions in a household safe. Things like jewelry, cash, and safety deposit keys are all items that should be stored safely. However, many criminals don’t just steal your physical possessions… they’ll also try to steal your identity. Keep your social security cards, legal or financial information, passports, and any other identity-related documents in the safe or in a safety deposit, too.
As an extra layer of protection, you can install indoor cameras around your safe or in the range of certain valuables so you can always have eyes on them.
7. Leaving Your Security System Disarmed
Arming your security system is a crucial step to ensuring our 24/7 monitoring center receives any alarm signals immediately. Often, break-ins and other dangers could’ve been avoided by just arming the system. Break-ins do happen when people are at home, and those incidents have the potential to become violent. Using Guardian Alarm’s system, you can program your alarm to arm and disarm automatically, helping to decrease the chances of leaving it disarmed altogether.
Guardian Alarm: Home Safety Experts Since 1930
If you don’t have a security system, give Guardian Alarm a call today at 800.STAY.OUT to get your free quote. We offer the latest smart security solutions designed to not only protect your family but to help secure your home and simplify your daily routine. By pairing today’s technology with our 24/7 monitoring center, you can have peace of mind knowing you’re protected no matter what.
