Home Security System Updates: Why Summer Is the Best Time

Summertime is here. It’s that long-awaited time of the year meant for leisure and relaxation. It’s a time for fun with your family, and often, it’s an opportunity for homeowners to take on some home-improvement projects.

We all want to provide a safe living environment for our families. Summer can be the ideal time to review and improve the safety and security of your home. Here are just a few things you can do this summer to help ensure your family’s safety.

Look For Areas of Vulnerability

Take some time to walk around the outside of your home and look at it with an objective eye. Look for any weak spots from a security perspective. Are there any doors or windows that could be easily broken into? Are there areas that are poorly lit or not visible by passersby on the street or neighbors? Perhaps you have fences, gates or doors that are beginning to show the signs of age.

Then, do a similar inspection from the inside of your house. Your indoor survey should also include looking for areas that may not be adequately protected by smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and making sure that there are clear and easy escape routes from every part of your home in the event of an emergency.

Addressing The Problem Areas and Improving Your Home’s Security System

Now that you have a clear picture of the security weak spots in and around your home, you can take the necessary steps to fix them.

You can quickly bolster the effectiveness of your home security system by adding more motion sensors inside and outside your home. Outdoor sensors that are connected to security lighting can act as an effective deterrent against break-ins. Inside, motion sensors can trigger your alarm system to alert you and law enforcement of an intruder in your home.

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Create a Safety Plan

With the kids home from school, now is an ideal time to work out and practice a plan of what your family should do in the event of an emergency. Your safety plan should cover what to do in case of fire or burglary but can also extend to other emergencies such as flooding, hurricanes or gas leaks.

In your home safety plan, you should establish primary and alternate meeting areas both inside and outside of the house for your family to gather in an emergency. Ideal indoor gathering areas are ones that are closest to the ground and have no windows. The outdoor meeting areas are destinations to go to when evacuation is necessary, like a fire or gas leak. Children are often visual learners so drawing a color-coded map of escape routes and meeting areas can be very helpful.

Children should be taught to recognize the difference between the sound of a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide alarm. Everyone in the house, except for very young kids, should also be trained on how to use a fire extinguisher correctly.

Teach your children how to call for help. By knowing how to dial 911 (and under what circumstances it should be dialed) and being able to recite their full address, they will have the ability to call for emergency help if you cannot.

With your emergency plan in place, the only thing left to do is to rehearse. You may want to do one or two tests giving everyone warning of the practice run, and then follow it with surprise drills.

For more home safety tips and professional advice, call the friendly technicians at Georgia Plumbing Experts in Cartersville, GA at 770-744-0210.