Upgrade Your Home's Security Before Going on a Holiday Vacation

When you go on a holiday vacation, you should focus entirely on enjoying the trip. But you may feel concerned about leaving your home without someone to look after it the whole time. A pet sitter may visit to care for your pets and make sure nothing is wrong. Even with them showing up once or twice a day, you may still want to improve your home's security before leaving.

You can implement all sorts of features, but you may not want to install a thorough security system. Fortunately, you can still add a lot of security through other measures.

Electronic Door Locks

This is an excellent time to replace the front and back door locks. Instead of just replacing them with new and improved locks, you can make the switch to electronic locks. Although getting used to these locks before leaving and once you get back may take you a while, the control they will give you will be worth it.

You can make new PIN codes that your pet sitter and trusted people can use. If you have internet service, you can also create or disable entry codes while enjoying the holidays. You can also receive notifications when someone enters your home. If someone enters your home at an unusual time, you can contact those who have codes to make sure your home is still safe.

Home Automation 

Another way that you can feel more comfortable about home security is by using home automation. Automatic lights will help keep this setup simple. The key is to have all the lights in your home hooked up to a home automation system. Then you will need a smartphone application that allows you to change the lights in your home while away.

An ideal way to improve security is to make it look like you are home. It is best to set automatic timers for the lights that are most visible from the street to make the largest impact. You can even mix it up by turning lights on and off in a few rooms to make it look as natural as possible. 

Window Locks 

When you install electronic door locks, you will not have to worry about the doors as much. This leaves the windows as a way that a burglar can get into your home. But you can ease your concerns during a holiday vacation by replacing the window locks for better ones. Whether you use sliding, sash or wedge locks, you will want to focus on reinforcing their strength.

Even if a window is locked in place, a burglar could use enough force to snap the lock. In this case, you will benefit from picking heavy-duty locks, which you can often determine by their weight. A professional can help you with choosing them if you are not able to look at them in person.

This change will force a burglar to make a lot of noise trying to get in through a window. It may be enough to scare a burglar away on its own, but the noise it causes will at least alert your neighbors.

Burglary Safes 

It is important to put your most valuable possessions in a safe place while you are gone. This includes things such as money, jewelry, documents and even hard drives. You do not want to lose any the important files on any computer in your home.

Since burglars often check the master bedroom first, you may want to install a safe elsewhere. For instance, you can install one in the floor underneath your child's bed. You can make it even harder for a burglar to find by putting a rug on top and then placing toy boxes over the rug.

Contact us at  SCSC Southern California Security Center  to learn more about security upgrades.