Spring Cleaning: The Perfect Time to Assess Your Home Security Needs
Is the pollen gone yet?
Phew, that was a pretty horrible year for this yellow stuff in South Carolina! Now that it’s time to once again open windows and doors, let in the air (not pollen), right before we shut everyone down again for the summer heat… it’s also a perfect time to assess your home security needs as you’ll be spending time going through your home, inside and out.
When you do your spring cleaning, look for potential security issues. You know, two birds – one stone! 😉
Assessing your Home Security Needs During Spring Cleaning
Springtime cleaning is a great opportunity to evaluate your current security measures and identify areas that may need improvement. Why? You’ll be touching almost all your windows, doors (aka entry points), cameras, and systems as you clean and dust off the pollen that’s settled in all nooks and crannies. NOTE: This is even MORE important if you have a cleaning crew on retainer who regularly cleans your home – they might have inadvertently moved camera positions as they clean, touched sensors, or left doors and windows unlocked!
Finding Potential Home Security Risks During Spring Cleaning
- Doors and Windows
As mentioned above, check the locks on all doors and windows to ensure that they are functioning properly and that they’ve not been left unlocked by the cleaning crew. If you have any damaged locks or hardware, replace them immediately. - Outdoor Lighting
Evaluate your current outdoor lighting system to ensure that it is providing adequate illumination in the right spots. Consider installing additional lights or motion-sensor lights to deter potential intruders and to light up all areas of your front and backyard. - Landscaping
Check your landscaping to ensure that it is not providing cover for intruders. Trim back any overgrown bushes, shrubs or trees that could obscure the view of your home from the street, being sure to keep them trimmed all year. - Security System
Test your security system to make sure that it is functioning properly. If you are our customer, we are happy to help you do this. Besides testing in the spring, also test before a major hurricane. If you don’t have a security system, consider installing one to protect your home and family and to monitor from afar when needed. - Emergency Preparedness
Check the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, and replace them if necessary. Review your emergency preparedness plan with your family to ensure that everyone knows what to do in the event of an emergency. This is especially needed when you have children, have elderly parents who live with you, and when you live in a hurricane-prone zone. - Valuables
Take inventory of your valuables, such as jewelry and electronics, and consider storing them in a safe or other secure location – NOT in your bedroom, where burglars expect valuables to be.
Why Identifying Potential Vulnerabilities in Your Home Security is Important
By assessing these areas during spring cleaning, you can identify potential vulnerabilities in your home security. Why is this important? You can now take the proper steps to address them before they become a problem. Prevention is always better than fixing an issue.
Who Will you Call? Strand Security
If you need help addressing potential issues, as always we are only a phone call away. Call us anytime at 843-318-6392 for help with your home security and commercial security. Your security is our business.
Does the Start of Daylight Saving Time Bring Us More or Less Crime?
Daylight Saving Time – Love it or Hate it?
Do you like Daylight Saving time, or do you dread it? It’s almost that time, on Sunday, March 13 we will be ‘springing ahead’ to add an extra hour of daylight into our days!
There is a movement to do away with it all together while most western countries are still adhering to Daylight Saving Time.
Here is some history on it as found on Wikipedia
“Daylight saving time in the United States is the practice of setting the clock forward by one hour when there is longer daylight during the day, so that evenings have more daylight and mornings have less. Most areas of the United States observe daylight saving time (DST). The Uniform Time Act of 1966 established the system of uniform daylight saving time throughout the US.
In the U.S., daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November, with the time changes taking place at 2:00 a.m. local time. With a mnemonic word play referring to seasons, clocks “spring forward, fall back”—that is, in springtime the clocks are moved forward from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. and in fall they are moved back from 2:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Daylight saving time lasts for a total of 34 weeks (238 days) every year, about 65% of the entire year.”
More daylight and warmer weather in spring time means… more criminal activity!
Does Daylight Saving Time Reduce or Increase Crime?
You might be surprised to find out how Daylight Saving time affects crime! We were!
“In a new paper forthcoming in The Review of Economics and Statistics, we find that shifting daylight from the morning to the early evening has pretty hefty returns for public safety. When DST begins in the spring, robbery rates for the entire day fall an average of 7 percent, with a much larger 27 percent drop during the evening hour that gained some extra sunlight.
Why might this time shift matter? The timing of sunset is pretty close to the time many of us leave work, and walking to our cars or homes in the dark makes us easier targets for street criminals. We feel safer when we’re walking in the daylight, and it’s easy to imagine why light might have a deterrent effect on crime: offenders know they’re more likely to be recognized and get caught if they’re fully visible. The timing of sunset matters because our daily schedules can’t easily adapt to follow the daylight. Most people can’t leave work before 5pm, even if it would be safer to do so.”
source: brooking.edu
Spring Season is Not a Big Crime Season (but Summer is!)
More daylight means less darkness which in turn translates to less crime.
Most criminals do want cover of darkness to commit their crimes. The biggest exception is burglaries, which happen most often between the time of 10 AM – 2 PM, when people are not home but at work!
So what can you do in spring?
- Relax!
- Go outside and play.
- Make sure to activate your home security system, but enjoy that extra daylight and sunshine.
If you are the spring cleaning kind, read this.
If you are the worrying kind, here are some spring home security tips to consider implementing.
Daylight Saving Time Bring Us Less Crime!
You got this!
Spring Clean With Caution; Secure Your Home!
What Does Security Have To Do With Spring Cleaning?
It’s April and the weather is gorgeous here in Myrtle Beach.
Warm but not hot.
Balmy but not sticky.
Sunny but not scorching.
What is a homeowner to do? Spring clean, of course. This is the perfect time to clean your porches off.This is the perfect time to get rid of the last of the yellow pine pollen.This is the perfect time to dust off your outdoor furniture and hose off the car(s)! It’s a great time to be outside and get a few ‘chores’ done before South Carolina summer weather moves in.
If you aren’t much into spring cleaning yourself, chances are you have someone come to your home to do some power washing and landscaping to make your home look presentable after the long winter.
When you hire contractors to come do work at your home, caution and due diligence is required to make sure your home stays safe and secure long after they’ve left.
Here Are 5 Ways Your Security Can Be Compromised When Spring Cleaning
You are ready to clean your home and property, especially now that the wether is better and the pine pollen is done.
Wait!
Before you spring clean, please read these five ways your security can be compromised. Then go ahead and proceed with cleaning, and with caution.
Awareness is the biggest prevention of crimes!
1) Unlocked Windows and Doors After Cleaning
If you, or someone you hire cleans your windows this spring, make sure to go and re-lock every single window, especially if it’s a professional window washer you’ve hired and if you did the windows on the inside as well as the outside. The same goes for your garage and backdoors – anytime you’ve had contractors to your home, re-check your doors for unlocked doors.
2) Unplugged Lights
Security lights can and may be unplugged when someone is working on your home. Do a quick walk-around at the end of each work day after contractors have been to your home.
3) Disabled Cameras or Floodlights After Power-washing
An experienced power-washing company should not disable cameras or flood lights, but… sometimes we hire cheap labor instead of qualified labor. (We aren’t here to judge you, just caution you!) Please check your cameras and your floodlight positions after power-washing your home.
4) Spring Yard Sale Can Be A Burglary Preview
We get that you want to clear your home of clutter. We get that you want to make some extra cash after your spring cleaning is all done with. When holding a yard sale, please cover/remove/lock up other valuables you aren’t selling, away from sight! The last thing you want is to make $50 on a yard sale only to have a criminal come back and steal your nice set of expensive golf clubs (or car, tools etc.) out of your garage that they saw when they visited your yard sale!
5) Contractors Come To Your Neighbors House Too!
Anytime you have someone come to your home, you are inviting a stranger in. Don’t assume just because someone works for a reputable company, you are safe. Don’t offer them a closer look into your home if it’s not necessary. Don’t offer them a sneak peek of your garage inventory. We suggest keeping your garage door closed and valuables out of sight. This makes sense at all times, but especially when you schedule maintenance on your home. Don’t forget these are good habits to have at all time because even if YOU don’t have anyone visiting your home, your neighbor might. Those contractors also have a great view of your home…!
If you have questions about your cameras, need a security system, want Smarthome technology or want to talk to us about your home or business security, don’t hesitate to call us!
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