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Lockout Tips

Keep Your Home Protected While on Vacation

Ok, you are likely still in coronavirus lockdown. But, states are relaxing their rules, and it’s May. Soon, you will be free of your cabin fever and looking to take a vacation. With the unofficial start of summer on Memorial Day, many people will be practicing social distancing while getting away from it all.

Besides the holiday season from November to December, this time of year is one of the peak times for burglars to take advantage of people on vacation. As emergency locksmiths, 24 HR Lockouts recommends that you make sure your locks are all in working order, but we’ve got a few more tips to keep your home and belongings safe while you’re out.

Make it look like you’re home.

This is quite possibly one of the most important tips we can give. Create the illusion of someone being home by having your lights come on with a timer, keep a car in the driveway or curbside, put a hold on your mail, and if you’ll be gone for an extended period of time, have someone come out to perform lawn maintenance. Appearances matter, if your home looks like someone has been there, it helps to act as a deterrent to potential burglars.

Have someone check-in.

If you have a trusted family member, friend, or neighbor, give them a copy of your key and have them check in on your home to make sure everything is okay. They can also ensure that your lights are coming on with a timer, collect your mail, or be the one to do lawn maintenance to ensure it looks like someone is home. Be sure to give them a way to contact you should there be an emergency with your home.

Help prevent accidents.

Lastly, you should unplug all non-essential electronics, turn off the main water supply, keep your AC on but turn up your thermostat to 85 degrees, and get rid of any perishables from your refrigerator before leaving. All of these measures are great for preventing accidents and nasty messes. Keeping non-essential electronics unplugged and keeping your AC at 80 will help with potential power surges that occur during the hotter months and thus prevent house fires and help save money on energy. Turning off your main water supply helps prevents potential leaks and plumbing disasters that can occur while you’re gone.

Don’t post to social media.

Social media is great, we love that it gives people an opportunity to communicate with followers all across the world, but it can also communicate news you don’t want to get out to the general public. Many people use the default privacy settings on their social media profiles, so unless you’ve locked yours down you could be broadcasting news to some unscrupulous people. Sharing your vacation details without locking down your privacy settings can be a great invitation for potential burglars. Remember, it’s pretty easy to search for someone’s address on Google so if someone has your name and the city you live in, they could potentially find your home address.

Keep your valuables safe.

If you have valuables like jewelry, heirlooms, important documents, and other items you don’t wish to lose, it’s a good idea to lock them up in a fire-proof safe. This is just an added security measure, but is still an important step to keep your belongings safe.

Remember, there is no sure-fire way to completely safeguard your home from burglars or accidents, but these tips are a great way to help prevent such incidents while you’re on vacation. Following these tips means you can sit back and enjoy your vacation wherever that may be and not have to worry about things on the home front. Just remember to lock up before you leave!

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