Securing Your Home Before You Go On Vacation
From summer break to the holiday season, families leave home year round for a vacation. There are several ways to ensure the safety of your home while you are gone, starting with your garage door. When leaving for any amount of time there are a few things you can do to secure your garage:
Garage Door Remote: Start by keeping your garage door remote out of sight. Many keep their garage door opener on their visor or in their center console. Keep your garage door remote inside or locked in your glove compartment. Before traveling, reprogram your exterior opener with a new code and do not share it with anyone. Also, do not give any doorman or valet access to your garage door remote or house key; some keep a mini remote on their keychain. If your current system is out of date, Overhead Door of Garden City can help you install a new opener with a “Vacation Switch,” which disables all remote access when activated.
Garage Door Monitor: A garage door monitor allows you to monitor and close up to four garage doors from any room in your house. The sensor automatically sends a signal to the monitor, alarming you if the door has been left open. With Overhead Door’s Anywhere™ app, you have access to security information such as the dates and times of when the garage door was used.
Lock All Doors: One way to guarantee your garage door stays closed is through locking or disabling your garage door opener. If your garage is attached to your home, lock all interior doors and windows leading into the house. Law enforcement advises not to leave spare keys anywhere outside of your home as these tend to be easy for criminals to find.
Lights and Timers: Install motion-detecting lights on the exterior of your garage door. These lights will turn on as anyone approaches your home, a surefire signal to keep invaders away. Another lighting option would be to set timers to exterior and interior lights. As the sun goes down, timed lights will shine a light on all possible entrances to your home, giving full view to neighbors or security cameras. Setting timers to interior lights will give the illusion that someone is home.
Tie up Loose Ends: There are a variety of things many do not think of when leaving town. These loose ends that will improve the safety of your home include putting a hold on your mail, hiring lawn care or snow removal services, and keeping valuables secured in a safe deposit box. Lastly, it may be wise to tread lightly on social media. Make your accounts private, or save your stories and photos for sharing until after you have returned home.
To install these added security measures, or an entirely new garage door unit,
contact Overhead Door of Garden City today.
