10 Ways To Protect Your Home This Spring
Spring is here, and the team at In2Locks couldn’t be happier. Lighter mornings and nights, warmer days, longer days, and the time when we start opening up our home and letting the sunshine in.
Not only does a little bit of sun make us feel much better and give a boost to our well being, but it is also the time of year when we start opening up our homes. Opening windows, doors and even leaving our garage doors slightly ajar while we’re busy in the garden.
And this is where we come in.
With more people working from home, mixed with the springtime weather, it’s essential that we continue to keep our home safe and secure, especially as reports show that approximately 58% of burglaries occur when someone is home.
Opportunists look for properties that look to be easy targets – they look for ease of access. For example, testing door handles (67% of break-ins occur through doorways), looking for garages and sheds that don’t have locks, open windows (29% of burglars break in through a window), etc.
Below our team has provided some top tips to keep your home safe and secure this spring and summer.
Top tips for keeping your home safe and secure
- Don’t open doors and leave them unattended. We all do it, quickly run out to pop something in the bin or to hang some washing out, leaving our door open for what we think is only a few minutes.
However, doors can quickly shut behind you, leaving you locked out, jamming small children’s hands, or trapping pets as the door swings shut. And if, like us, you don’t take the front door key with you every time you pop outside, the chances of you becoming locked out of your home can increase considerably.
Also, it only takes a second for someone walking past to enter your property uninvited. Please, make sure to close doors behind you for safety as well as security.
(Of course, don’t panic if you ever do find yourself locked out as the team at In2Locks provides an emergency locksmith service meaning we can be with you in minutes). - Check window locks are still in good working order. It’s lovely to swing open your windows and let the spring breeze flood into the house. However, please make sure if you are leaving the house, your windows are open but on lock, or they’re locked altogether.
Unfortunately, more and more break-ins happen when a window has been left open, and no locks are in place to prevent unwanted visitors – check your windows! - Don’t leave garage doors ajar. As we start lifting everything out of the garage, from the kids’ bikes to the lawnmower for the front grass, it’s important to keep your garage door closed at all times. Opportunists love when they can see straight into your garage, and they feel especially lucky if they know it is an open garage!
Make sure to check all garage door locks and when you’re finished for the day, lock your garage with your belongings securely inside. - Don’t leave keys in the back of the door. This is an area that we’re all guilty of; however, leaving keys in the back of the door provides more opportunity for burglars as they can break a window and reach inside to unlock the door easier.
It’s also difficult to enter a property in an emergency or if your partner is trying to gain access if your keys are still in the lock. - Keep things out of plain sight. It’s essential to keep all valuables, such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, etc., out of plain sight, so anyone walking past your property isn’t tempted to take what isn’t theirs.
- Install sensor lights/alarm systems. Lights, either on timers or as sensors, are a great deterrent to use around your property. In addition, alarm systems installed on front and garage doors can help protect you and others from unwanted visitors attempting to gain access.
- Fit locks to gates and sheds. We keep an unprecedented amount of stuff in our sheds and garages. From garden furniture to garden tools, kids’ toys, bikes, and more, you need to protect your belongings just like your home.
Installing a locking mechanism is your best chance at keeping your property safe. If you would like any information on the best lock for your gates, sheds, and doors, call our Newcastle Locksmith team on 0191 286 2018, we’d be happy to help. - Replace any old or broken locks. If a lock does need replacing, replace it! Don’t put off replacing any broken locks or catches or upgrading your door locks or even window locks to more modern, secure, suitable systems. At In2Locks, we specialise in lock replacements and upgrades, helping homeowners all over the Northeast protect and secure their property.
It’s also important to remember that maintenance is key. Regularly maintaining your locks helps keep performance and security high and increases the longevity of your locks. - Hide the keys. This may seem obvious, but when you remove your keys from the back of the door or you look to store your garage keys in your home, make sure to keep them somewhere safe and somewhere out of sight. However, not in a completely obscure place that even you forget where they have been placed!
- Lock any access doors – if your garage is attached to your home, you must make sure that any doors between the two remain closed and locked when not in use. The overall aim is to keep security high and access limited!
Upgrade your locks – increase your security
With spring firmly here in Newcastle and summer just around the corner, is now the perfect time to upgrade, change, or install new locks to your property?
Whether your window locks need a little TLC, you would like a new front door lock, or you currently don’t have a secure locking system on your shed or garage, call the professional locksmiths at In2Locks today.
We work with homeowners throughout Newcastle and the Northeast, providing a locksmithing
service that is second to none.
Professional, courteous, experienced, and friendly – call us today on 0191 286 2018.