How to Secure Your Home When You’re Away on Vacation
As you embark on an extended business or vacation trip, it is imperative to take precautions to protect your home while you’re gone. Valuables left visible can alert burglars that your place is empty.
Leave Your Lights On is often recommended as a way of creating the impression that someone is home, but this practice may actually attract burglars.
1. Lock the Doors
Before leaving on vacation, it’s essential that all doors and windows are locked securely. An unlocked door or open window could provide entryway for burglars who wish to gain entry.
Remove any spare keys from outside of the house. Assign someone reliable to monitor your property and keep up with mail and newspaper deliveries (or temporarily stop them until your return), as well as keep up with mail delivery or temporarily suspend mail and newspaper subscriptions until your return.
Pulling weeds, trimming bushes and clearing snow are easy ways to create the illusion that someone is home. Also it is wise to postpone posting about vacation plans until after your return home as social media updates may inform potential burglars that your home is empty.
2. Turn Off the Lights
Leaves lights on for days or even weeks while you’re away can look suspicious to criminals, waste electricity and create fire hazards. A smart switch such as Deako can make your home appear occupied with its program that automatically turns your lights on and off at specified times of the day or week.
Notifying friends and neighbors about your trip on social media and suspending mail/newspaper delivery as well as installing a video doorbell are other helpful strategies for protecting against burglaries while you’re away. You might even consider setting one up with customizable greetings and automated routines; such devices provide great preventive security against potential incidents while you’re gone!
3. Turn Off the Heat
Vacations are amazing experiences for both retirees, digital nomads and employees taking an adult gap year, but worrying about your home while away can rob your time off of its true enjoyment.
Turning off the heat when going away on vacation can prevent frozen and ruptured pipes in winter, while simultaneously helping keep humidity low to combat mold growth in summer. Just make sure that cabinet doors leading to under-sink plumbing remain open so the heated air reaches those areas too, check smoke detector batteries regularly and change if necessary, stop mail delivery altogether, or ask a neighbor to collect these items for you.
4. Put Away Any Valuables
Vacations can provide much-needed respite from everyday stressors; whether it be digital nomads traveling the globe, retirees with second homes in paradise, or employees taking adult gap years – but often require prior preparation in order to ensure the security of your house while away.
Many homeowners share their exciting travel adventures via social media, but this can alert criminals of your absence. Resist the urge to post during your trip – save those pictures for when you return! It may also be wise to place any valuables such as electronics and jewelry in a safe until your return home. This may help prevent thieves from breaking in or smashing windows when spotting inactivity at home.
5. Hire a Security Company
No matter the length of time, leaving home can present new worries. But there are ways you can ensure your property remains safe during this extended trip.
Consider hiring a security company. These professionals offer video monitoring and guard services for patrolling. While costs vary, look for companies with prior security or law enforcement experience when making this choice.
Be wary of posting about your trip on social media; doing so gives burglars notice that your home will soon be unoccupied and increases their chances of breaking in. Ask a neighbor or friend to water plants and pick up mail while also considering trimming any risky branches that could fall in a storm.
