Keep Your Home Safe While Away on Vacation

Summer is here. It’s the perfect time to take that well deserved vacation with your family or friends. Vacation is a time meant for rest and relaxation. However, whether you are going on a short overnight weekend trip or taking a vacation extravaganza, leaving your home unattended can be risky.

Below we offer you some tips on how to keep your home safe while you’re away on vacation.

• Don’t announce your travel plans on social media and wait until you return to post pictures.
• Ask a neighbor to pick up your mail and newspaper so it appears someone is home.
• Install timers for both interior and exterior lights and preset them to go on at night.
• Install motion sensors in the front, back, and side of the house that cause the lights to go on when movement is detected.
• Unplug unnecessary appliances. A toaster, coffee machine, microwave, television, or computer is still using energy even when it’s not in use.
• Turn off the main water valve to avoid a burst pipe or flooding.
• Give a trusted neighbor your vacation itinerary, contact info of where you will be staying and how you can be reached.
• Neatly cut your shrubbery so the interior of your home is visible and burglars can’t hide undetected.
• Arrange to have your lawn mowed (or snow shoveled during the winter) while you are away.
• Ask a neighbor to set out your trash on collection day and then retrieve empty cans the same day.
• Never leave your house key hidden outside your home.

Following the above steps will ensure a worry-free vacation. As long as you prepare in advance you can have peace of mind knowing your home is safe as you relax this summer.

Call OceanPoint Insurance at 847.5200 for more helpful tips on how to keep your home and your family safe.