Locks that actually work
If the deadbolt has to be forced into place or the handle wobbles, the lock is probably badly fitted. An ill-fitting lock can be snapped or slipped with a tool. Fix it, and use screws long enough to reach the frame.
Safety tips
Habits that make any home safer
An expensive alarm does less than a door that is actually locked. These are the small, free habits that do most of the work, with or without a monitored system.
Around the house
Doors, notes and keys
Do not advertise your absence
A note on the door for a delivery tells anyone passing that you are out, often when you will be back and sometimes your name. Use delivery instructions or a camera doorbell instead. See video monitoring.
Keep keys out of sight
Not under the mat, not in the flower pot, not on a hook visible through the window. A lockbox or a keypad lock is better. Smart locks make spare keys unnecessary.
Keep a home inventory
Could you list the make, model and serial number of your television and laptop right now? After a burglary or a fire, your insurer will ask, and without the details you may be paid less than the loss, or nothing for some items. Police are also far more likely to return stolen goods they can identify.
Go room by room, including the garage and patio. For each item note a description, make and model, serial number, condition, what you paid, where and when you bought it and what it would cost to replace. Photograph or video everything as you go, open the drawers and closets, and keep a copy somewhere other than the house.
When the alarm cries wolf
What to do after a false alarm
False alarms are more than a nuisance. Repeated ones train neighbors to ignore the siren, and in some towns they bring a fine. After one, call your provider and get the cause found and fixed rather than living with it.
Tell your neighbors the system is being looked at so they stay alert for anything genuinely wrong. Most false alarms come down to a sensor, a pet or a forgotten code, all of which are solvable. The monitoring guide explains how the center handles them.
Common causes
- Doors not fully closed when arming
- Pets triggering motion sensors
- Visitors or cleaners without a code
- Low sensor batteries
- Drafts moving curtains or balloons
Children at home alone
Is your child ready?
Age is only part of it, and the legal minimum varies by state, so check your state's child welfare guidance first. Maturity matters more. Is your child a risk taker? Do they follow rules and instructions? How do they react under stress? Do they know basic first aid and when to call for help?
Look at the setting too: trustworthy neighbors nearby, the traffic on your street, crime in the area. A monitored system helps here; a quiet alert when the system is disarmed after school tells you they are home. See choosing a system for how to set that up.
Talk through together
- Who they may open the door to
- What to say on the phone
- Where the first aid kit is
- How to leave if there is a fire
- Which neighbor to go to
Questions
Seasonal reminders
Holidays
Keep real trees watered and away from heat, switch off decorative lights overnight, and do not leave boxes from new electronics at the curb where everyone can see them.
Going away
Stop the mail, put lights on a varied schedule with energy controls, and do not post travel photos until you are back.
Summer
Kids and lawnmowers do not mix, and garden chemicals belong locked away. Windows left open for air are a common way in; use limiters on ground-floor windows.
Keep reading