Home Security Tips When On Holiday

  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Blog
  4. /
  5. Security and Safety
  6. /
  7. Home Security Tips When...

It’s the best, and the most stressful, time for anyone – going on holiday. A night away, a weekend off camping or a week or two spent somewhere where the sun always shines (no, unfortunately, this isn’t Middlesbrough).

Before we leave, we have lists of things we need to remember. Things we know we need to pack, everything from sun cream, clothes, bug spray – let’s face it, it feels like we need to pack everything, including the kitchen sink.

 

However, as well as remembering everything you need to take with you on your much-needed trip, keeping your house safe and secure while you’re away is vital. Unfortunately, our locksmiths have been to too many emergency call-outs when people have just returned from their holidays to find their garage lock broken or their back or front door slightly ajar. It’s awful and something that, as the number one locksmith in Middlesbrough, we want to help as many people as we can avoid.

So now that you’ve got your cases packed, the kids and pets have been strapped into the car, ready for the adventure ahead, we’ve pulled together a handy checklist of things to consider, ensuring your home stays safe when you’re away.

Tell a trusted neighbour or friend.

Letting a neighbour and someone you can trust know you are going away can act as an extra pair of eyes on your property, providing you with peace of mind. It’s also good to give them your contact details and whom to contact in an emergency. Moreover, don’t worry if you don’t feel confident with a neighbour, ask a friend or family member to check in on the property a couple of times while you’re away and let them know that you’ll repay the favour. A big favour to ask would be if they could also pull your bins out and put them back again. This again makes it look like there’s someone in the property as bins are emptied as usual.

Look to invest in some light timers.

These can be simple but effective. Set them for sporadic times and make sure that they switch off. The aim is that your home never looks unoccupied. There’s a wide variety of timers to choose from now, and in some instances, you can even get them to fit your radio and TV systems, so you can create noise in your home, too, setting these to come on and off at specific points throughout the day.

What’s more, some of these devices can also be controlled through your smartphone (I mean, what can’t be nowadays). A little extra tip is not to set your timings, for example, to come on at 7pm and turn off at 10pm every sight, this is a sure sign no one is home, and they’re set on purpose. More sporadic settings are much more effective as a potential burglar deterrent.

If you usually get your papers delivered, make sure you cancel this delivery when you’re away. There’s nothing worse than not being able to open your front door because you have papers piled high behind it.

Beware of the dreaded social media. We all do it. Post that selfie snap of us at the airport, with a caption of two weeks in the sun. Here we come. Course you do, you’re excited to be going away, and you want everyone to know that your house will be unoccupied for x number of days until your return; great – and now all locksmiths alongside the police are shaking their heads, slowly, sadly. Social media is excellent, but maybe we could hold off posting fantastic holiday pics until we get home.

Alternatively, maybe stop checking ourselves in everywhere to show that you’ll be out for a couple of hours while you enjoy the delicious Nando’s with your entire family. Of course, if your social media accounts are private, hopefully, none of your friends and family are out to burglar your house. Still, again you never know – how often your brother borrowed your football boots while you were out and never returned them – not naming any names.

Remembering everyone to lock all your doors and windows when you leave is essential. Not on night lock or pulled shut from the inside, but appropriately secured. Ask your partner to follow you around the house so you have peace of mind knowing that they’ve all been double-checked just in case there’s one you’ve accidentally missed or the kids have decided to re-open to be “helpful.”

Don’t leave keys in the back door lock. This is mainly the case with patio doors, as many people lock doors and leave the keys in the back. Don’t. Lock the door, take them out and hide the keys somewhere safe. Also, don’t leave your window keys in sight. Ensure these are tucked away somewhere safe but somewhere you’ll remember when you return.

Keep valuables out of sight. Make sure you leave nothing lying around that is in view if someone was to look through any windows or doors. Store everything safely, and for your most valuable possessions, look to lock these away in a secure home safe, which is again out of sight of any windows or doors.

Ensure those jobs you’ve been putting off for ages get done—things like replacing broken locks or placing new ones on side gates/doors. Even things like your garden shed should all have good locks to help protect your belongings.

Keep car keys and spare or replacement car keys out of sight. If you have hooks to avoid losing car keys , maybe look to hide them somewhere else when you’re away. As with other valuables, please don’t leave them somewhere that can be seen through windows and doors.

Finally, if you have a burglar alarm, use it.

The list above is not exhaustive, but it will help provide you with a quick reference of things to remember without adding too much stress to your already long holiday packing lists.

At Tyne Tees Locks, the services as locksmiths that we can provide, above and beyond fixing and replacing locks (which, if we’re honest, we’re pretty good at – check out our customer testimonials for reference) is that we can also help with safes both commercial and in the home. Whether this is installation, removal or moving them, we have the expertise to make sure we can help you no matter what you need.

Before you leave, we can help replace broken or faulty locks on garages or authorises throughout your home. We also offer a complete security check of any property, highlighting any areas you might like to consider looking into further.

If you are looking for a locksmith in Middlesbrough, look no further than Tyne Tees Locks. If you have locked your keys in the car, we have a team of highly trained locksmiths who can assist you. With our auto locksmiths in Middlesbrough, we can be at your disposal within 30 minutes if you need help gaining access to your car or van.

What’s more, all our work comes with a full guarantee, a 10% online discount and an emergency locksmith contact number available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Find out why our customers continue to recommend us in Middlesbrough and throughout the Northeast (they don’t always return to us time and time again because we do such a good job the first time around).

Written By

admin

admin

Our Latest Blog Posts

Other Blog Posts

Good locksmith in Sunderland

Doors and their locks

There are many doors to choose from when finding the perfect front and back doors for our homes. These can range from...
Common Reasons People Call A Locksmith

Why Use a Local Locksmith?

Ok, we promise this isn’t a sales plea but more of a “let’s save our customers from being robbed, having a half-heart...