How to Protect Your Garage and Home When Traveling
Remember to Keep Your Garage and Home Safe When You Leave
Most of us leave our homes each morning and return each evening after work to find everything the way we left it. We love our garages, the convenience of automatic garage door openers and other small ways that make life easier and simpler for us all.
When we leave to go out of town for a few days, the ritual is not much different. However, some people find that even the daily routine can provide an opportunity for others to watch your home and make note of your schedule. When we take extended trips or vacations, the differences in routine can be even more noticeable and can leave your home vulnerable to break-ins and theft.
How Can You Protect Yourself?
Burglars are not normally experienced thieves and will look for “easy” opportunities to target. Many will just move on to the next potential home quickly if they realize that a home has been thoroughly locked up…they know that there will be easier targets very close by.
Are you aware that thieves may try to break in through your garage. Overhead garage doors may be easily overlooked and can be fairly easy to open.
5 Tips to Better Secure Your Home and Garage:
- Some homeowners don’t realize that many of the garage door opener manufacturers use a very limited set of codes for remote operation. Always disable (unplugging it is probably easiest way to do this) your garage door opener. Scanners can be used from a car in the street to find your code and then use a transmitter now tuned just for your door opener to easily open your garage door.
- Lock your garage door from the inside manually with the bars that slide through the track or guide rails that your door slides up and down on.
- We also recommend that you install a “C-Clamp” on both garage door tracks, just above the first wheel. If the door won’t move at all, then it’s much more unlikely that it can be jimmied up or broken to give a thief access.
- Install a film (or have it installed) on the inside of garage door windows. It will not block the sunlight but can prevent someone looking inside your garage to see what articles they might “need”!
- How many people remember to lock the door between your home and garage? This door should be equipped just like your front door. It’s just as important to have a deadbolt and a wide-angle peephole here as it is on an entry door. If you hear noises in your garage, do you really want to open your door and remove the only safety barrier you may have?
A Few “Freebies” Thrown In
Another smart things to do is to get rid of the remote clipped to your car’s visor. Everybody can see that (even a thief) and it’s like you sent them an invitation to a party. Purchase a keychain remote and keep it in your purse or your pocket attached to the vehicle’s keys.
Close your garage door! Even if you’re just taking your kids to a friend’s home around the corner and are expecting to be right back.
Bright lights that come on via a motion-detector are one of the best investments you can make. For some reason thieves would rather work in the dark…especially if it takes them a while to get in.
Last, but certainly not least, DON’T advertise that you will be going on vacation via your favorite Social Media outlets. It does not take much sophistication to set filters that provide alerts and links when that type of information is posted…and yes, thieves have access to the internet too.
If you make sure your home is secure starting with your garage door, the chances of a break-in are greatly diminished.
Professional Garage Door Installation or Repair Service
If you need help with any part of securing your garage, find an experienced garage door professional to provide all the right parts or equipment and can help you set all of it up to make your home as secure as possible.
