Posts Tagged ‘home’

Home Security – 10 Tips To Protect Yourself And Your Family

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

When people think of home security, they are inclined to think of electronic surveillance systems. However, there are other ways to protect yourself and your family from injury and burglars. I will give you my top ten tips for home security.

1] Windows are really the key to home security. Window-stays become loose or sloppy as they get older and sometimes you can get a window-stay to jump off its peg by thumping the outside window frame. Fit window stay locks

2] Doors must be sturdy, well-hung on strong hinges and have secure locks. Fit deadlocks, especially on exterior doors.

3] Spare keys must not be secreted near the door under a mat, a flower pot or a stone. If you want to leave a key with a neighbour, select the neighbour cautiously. Be wary of those with teenage kids, their friends may become aware that the spare key in the fruit bowl is to your house.

4] Tools that can help a burglar must be locked away. Keep your shed and garage doors locked and if you have a ladder, chain and lock it to a fixed point like a wall.

5] Dogs are helpful for home security, but they should not be relied on. Some thieves will kill a dog to get in. If you leave your dog in the house, get a box to fit inside your door to collect whatever comes in, lock the letter box closed or seal it off for good. If you leave the dog in the yard, try to get a neighbour to check up on it from time to time.

6] Plants and bushes should not be allowed to grow big enough to obstruct anyone’s view of windows and doors. Passers-by and ‘nosy neighbours’ are a big disincentive to thieves, but if no one can see a ground floor widow, the burglar can gain access unnoticed. if you do want bushes under your windows, make them tough, thorny ones.

7] Boundary walls or fences are your first line of protection. They can be a good deterrent, if you get the style right. Some people embed broken glass into the top of the wall, but this may be against the law and can hurt unwary cats. The best thing to do is nail carpet-gripper just below the top, inside lip of the wall. Anyone putting their hands over the wall to pull themselves up will get a very horrible surprise and leave DNA.

8] Valuables should not be put on show near windows. Your house is your home not a presentation case. Put your TV, DVD player and video recorder in a cabinet, maybe get a safe for your valuables and conceal that too.

9] External lighting is a key part of nocturnal security. Get garden lights that are activated by motion (microwave) or heat (passive infra red), put at least one on each external wall of your house.

10] Electronic surveillance systems are a necessity these days. You do not need cameras, but they are helpful for identifying intruders. Your home security system can be wired or wireless, monitored or not.

These top ten home security tips should prevent your home from becoming an easy target for burglars.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with wired home security systems. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.

Pool Safety For Children

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Having a swimming pool on your property can be a fantastic way to have fun for yourself and your entire family. However, despite that, it can also be very dangerous if you have children around. If you have the patience, you should wait until your kids are at least five years old or more before you put a swimming pool on your property. On the other hand, if you already have a swimming pool, there are ways that you can safe-guard your children.

One thing you should always keep in mind is to never, ever, permit your children to be alone near your pool. Children tend to be attracted to water and all it takes is a second for them to be in the swimming pool. If you and your children are at your pool side and you have to leave the area even for a second, you must always take your children with you.

To be completely safe, you should always ensure that you have loads of safety equipment around your pool at all times. Safety items are a necessity to have around, as they could save the life of a child or in fact, anyone else who can’t swim.

You should invest in a shepherd’s crook too, as you can use it to pull someone out of the water. Having a phone at your pool is also a good investment, as you can easily ring for help in the event of an emergency.

If you don’t already have a fence around your pool you should look into getting one. A fence is a useful way to keep children from your pool. If you have a protective fence up, you won’t have to worry about small children falling in, while you are away from the pool. When you put your fence up, you should always make sure that it’s at least 6 foot high, with a locking gate. This way, no one can get into the pool without a key, which you should keep on you at all times.

You should learn artificial respiration too. Even though you hopefully will not ever need to use it. It is always great to know CPR in the event of someone falling into your pool that is unable to swim. Whenever you have people you know can’t swim at your pool, you should always stay within reach of them, so you can react instantly if they fall in. A minute can make all the difference to saving someone’s life.

Always bear in mind that swimming is fun, although you should always think in terms of safety first. Once you have finished using your pool for the day, make sure that you secure the poolside well – and padlock the gate tight so no one can get in too.

If you are worried about child pool safety or Child Safety in general, please visit our website. Click here to get your own unique version of this article with free reprint rights.

Home Security Matters

Friday, May 7th, 2010

Home security is a mammoth issue, but this is nothing new – it always has been an issue for parents and home owners. The problem is that family structure has changed. Not so long ago, people had much bigger families and mothers or grandmothers were at home to look after the kids. With six, eight or even ten children in a family, the house was never empty so burglars did not have a lot of opportunity. There was more social cohesion too, so criminals were loath to steal from their neighbours. So they set upon shops instead.

However, shops and other businesses started using electronic burglar alarms as the prices fell. These security units were so effective that burglars turned to stealing from people’s homes, which is made easier by the fact that the kids are in school and the parents are at work all day. American federal statistics indicate that domestic burglaries are up nearly ten percent since 2004. So, what can you do to put off a burglar?

If your residence is left unoccupied for a large part of the day because your children are at school, nursery or a baby-sitters’ and you are at work, consider getting some home help or joining a neighbourhood watch scheme. If you had a cleaner coming and going, it would afford some activity to discourage thieves.

Becoming a member of a neighbourhood watch would convey to your neighbours that you are worried about security and they will keep an eye on your home while you are out. Get your self a dog too, although be conscious that they can be easily poisoned, if the crook has access to them..

Fit an electronic surveillance system. This could be a monitored or tape set-up. Monitored is the best. An added bonus to a surveillance set-up is that you can be certain what your baby sitter gets up to while you are out too. You can turn it off when you yourself are at home or just leave the outside cameras on.

Another additional benefit with a home security system is that you can get a panic button linked to the system’s main external siren and strobe light. If you are attacked or worried, you can trigger the alarm by pushing a button on a device that you can wear around your neck. They can also be built into watches and brooches. These personal panic buttons are a good idea for the elderly and single women offering peace of mind to those living alone.

A monitored surveillance system will also warn you if your house catches fire while you are asleep or out or if someone is mooching around your garden. Often the operator of the system will phone the emergency services too after they have alerted you.

A good surveillance system can be used as a bargaining chip with your insurance broker to obtain some hefty discounts on your premium. If you have a small business that you operate from home, you may be able to off-set some or all of the overheads against your business too and a good home surveillance system can increase the selling price of your house, because it makes it that one step more complete, like having uPVC doors and windows and a wooden deck.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with home security systems comparison. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.

How Can You Tell If It Is A Quality Carpet Cleaning Service?

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

They are tender to the soles of the feet, very comfy to trudge on, however they could at times get really dirty since they gather a lot of dirt. I’m talking about carpets and rugs, and whether we like it or not we want them to be a big part of our lives. They turn out to be so, especially if you reside in locations like Long Island or other New York areas. Now, when you’ve got floor coverings in these locations and they get dirty, you should consider some good carpet cleaning Long Island services.

However, you could ask yourself – What makes a good carpet cleaning service? Well, there are tons of factors that make them good. For example take their ability for same day cleaning.

Great carpet cleaning in NY might be phoned and then right away the job can be done. You no longer need to specify for an appointment time for the cleaning of your carpets and rugs. This is the most beneficial if you’re in a hurry to get your home carpets cleaned.

Another thing that makes a good carpet cleaning provider is their other services. One service that they can do, aside from cleaning your carpets, is the cleaning of upholstery. Companies that handle carpet cleaning Long Island must not only know how to clean carpet but also other similar things in a room.

Carpet cleaning in Long Island or the New York area is usually a must as it can get really awful there occasionally. Dirt from shoes or splatters coming from your juice drink can ruin your carpeting or some other material on the floor. Yes a superb carpet cleaning Long Island service must learn to deal with other kinds of flooring.

It’s also essential to take note, in case you are to spot an excellent carpet cleaning service, that the stuff they use for cleaning has to be hypoallergenic. This would suggest a lot when you have toddlers at home or if you keep pets. It will keep your loved ones away from allergic reactions as well as other forms of poisoning.

Carpet cleaning Long Island is a very important matter of life for any person who dwells in those places. There in Long Island and in New York are professionals ready to thoroughly clean your carpets and rugs as well as other things in your house or at your workplace.

So when you think your carpeting is way unclean already, you better make sure you review the points that make an excellent carpet cleaning service. When you see them you may be guaranteed that everything is going to be as good as new.

If you work in New York and require carpet cleaning Long Island has a selection of carpet cleaning companies to choose from. Carpet Cleaning NY professionals have the understanding and expertise to maintain any carpet you may have in your home or office.

Are There Security Breeches In Your Home Or Business?

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

Security is an essential facet of life, but then it always has been. It is normal for parents to do their best to take care of their families and it is normal and even a legal requirement for an employer to ensure the safety of his or her staff. Part of the way we carry out these tasks is to defend the environment in which we live and work – our homes and our offices or other places of work.

A proper security system for our homes and businesses is usually an electronic system. Windows and doors – ie likely entry points – will be monitored by sensors. In order to maintain an operational security system, it is necessary to use a regularly changed password system. In a home the keypad will usually be numeric only, but you should change the password at least every month and possibly even every week.

For example, if you have teenage children or older, they will be bringing friends back. These friends will be able to see you child entering the password. This can be even more serious if the person is a boyfriend or girlfriend who subsequently gets dumped.

Similarly in an office or other place of work, it is a good idea to have pass cards that can be canceled if the employee leaves the company. A lot of damage is caused every year to material goods by disgruntled ex-employees and old boy- and girlfriends.

You can help passers-by and police by leaving some light on inside your building. Frequent passers-by, neighbours and police will get accustomed to seeing lights on, so if a burglar switches them off, they will become suspicious.

Burglars do not like light. In the same way, do not let bushes, shrubs or trees hide possible entry points. Keep them cut back so that people can see any suspicious activity. You would be surprised how many people just sit in their windows all day watching.

Outdoor security lighting is an excellent way of deterring intruders at night. Install a few solar garden lights that are activated by passive infra red motion sensors and they will be inexpensive to run. The good thing about them is that they do not announce their presence to the would be intruder, but they will catch him or her in a floodlight when he enters your property.

Another tip is to nail carpet gripper just under the top edge on the inside of your garden fence. Anyone trying to haul himself up over your fence will have a very horrible surprise and leave DNA for the police.

If your business or home has an open door policy in order to allow clients or your kids to walk in, install doorbells or chimes that are triggered by under carpet sensors, door sensors or PIR’s, so that employees or family can not be taken by surprise. It is very useful, because if your busy secretary doubles as a greeter of walk-in clients, it will ensure that she does not miss anybody or keeps anybody waiting.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with home security systems comparison. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.