Protect Your Home on Vacation
You are finally taking a well deserved vacation. While it seems like common sense with the busyness of life and a rapidly approaching departure date it is easy to forget something. Put together a checklist to be completed before you leave. All it takes is a few hours to secure your home, ensuring it is in the same condition on your return as when you left. By making your home appear lived in and using a home security system you can greatly decrease the chances burglars will target your house.
Although it would seem obvious many people forget to lock all doors and windows. Check every door and window twice, or have a spouse or your travel companion do a separate check. Place a metal or wooden bar to prevent windows from being jimmied and slid open. Unplug or turnoff your garage door opener. If there is a hidden spare key on the property put it away. Put inside lights on timers and outside lights on motion sensors. You may also consider putting the television on a timer.
A great way to deter thieves is to create the illusion that someone still lives there. Have a trusted friend of family member check on the house regularly. You can hire a house sitter for between $50 and $100 dollars per night. This is great if you have plants that need to be watered and pets that require feeding. Having this person collect your mail and newspaper is better than a calling for a stop mail/paper order, since burglars sometimes have access to this information. If you will be gone for several weeks or months it is a good idea to hire someone to mow the lawn.
A monitored home security system is a good deterrent and may even reduce your insurance rates. Wireless security cameras can be easily installed since there are no wires to run. All it takes is mounting the camera and plugging them into a transmitter. Data can be recorded at home using a digital video recorder (DVR), or you can view footage over the internet using a surveillance camera video server. This device has everything you need to access images over the internet from any web browser anywhere in the world. Simply plug the cameras into it and your ready to go. Visual verification is the best way for police to follow up on suspicious activity or a break in on your property.
One final note of importance, SHUT OFF THE WATER! This is especially important during winter months. If a water pipe springs a leak or toilet bowl cracks thousands of dollars of damage will be done to your home potentially making it unlivable. Following these simple steps will give you some piece of mind while you are away. Relax and have a great trip!
About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of wireless security cameras and digital video recorders. For more information, please visit The Protection Depot.
Although it would seem obvious many people forget to lock all doors and windows. Check every door and window twice, or have a spouse or your travel companion do a separate check. Place a metal or wooden bar to prevent windows from being jimmied and slid open. Unplug or turnoff your garage door opener. If there is a hidden spare key on the property put it away. Put inside lights on timers and outside lights on motion sensors. You may also consider putting the television on a timer.
A great way to deter thieves is to create the illusion that someone still lives there. Have a trusted friend of family member check on the house regularly. You can hire a house sitter for between $50 and $100 dollars per night. This is great if you have plants that need to be watered and pets that require feeding. Having this person collect your mail and newspaper is better than a calling for a stop mail/paper order, since burglars sometimes have access to this information. If you will be gone for several weeks or months it is a good idea to hire someone to mow the lawn.
A monitored home security system is a good deterrent and may even reduce your insurance rates. Wireless security cameras can be easily installed since there are no wires to run. All it takes is mounting the camera and plugging them into a transmitter. Data can be recorded at home using a digital video recorder (DVR), or you can view footage over the internet using a surveillance camera video server. This device has everything you need to access images over the internet from any web browser anywhere in the world. Simply plug the cameras into it and your ready to go. Visual verification is the best way for police to follow up on suspicious activity or a break in on your property.
One final note of importance, SHUT OFF THE WATER! This is especially important during winter months. If a water pipe springs a leak or toilet bowl cracks thousands of dollars of damage will be done to your home potentially making it unlivable. Following these simple steps will give you some piece of mind while you are away. Relax and have a great trip!
About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of wireless security cameras and digital video recorders. For more information, please visit The Protection Depot.
Labels: advice, home security system, house sitter, planning, protect, safety, secure, tips, travel, trip, vacation, wireless security cameras
posted by Security Cams @ 12:08 AM
1 Comments:
At November 16, 2011 at 9:03 PM ,
maneesh said...
One of the most useful tips that I got from a friend was to install a vacation cam in the house before one goes on a holiday. He also recommended a webcam software called GotoCamera: www.gotocamera.com This is how it works - Set up a webcam in the room you wish to monitor ( in my case, it was the living room), download the GotoCamera software. The set-up instructions are pretty simple and easy to follow. Once I set it up, I was able to monitor my living room from anywhere in the world by logging into their website. Initially, I tested it by trying to view my camera from my office and it worked! Not only that, GotoCamera also sends me motion detection emails. Pretty cool, I must say. Now I'm ever grateful for that useful tip! Next time you're off on a vacation, don't forget to set-up that vacation cam :)
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