A severe thunderstorm and a man storming into your home can cause the same type of dastardly damage. During a thunderstorm, high velocity winds, lightning, and a heavy downpour will put stress on the exterior components of your home. A thief, once he has forced his way into your home interior, will act much the same as a tornado, rummaging around with no regard for what lies in his way. He will snatch your valuable belongings from their rightful jewelry box and computer room at his will. That is why, just as you must maintain your roof to so leaks do not occur, it is important that you maintain your burglar alarms. According to the home safety guide Home Maintenance for Dummies, police report that 50 percent of all home burglaries are simply due to windows or doors being left unlocked. With these simple steps, you can keep your home security system in ship-shape and safe from the storm.
Keeping your monitoring alarm system updated may not cost you as much as you mentally estimate. If you have an older do-it-yourself monitoring alarm system installed in your home, many companies will work with you to revamp your old alarms to meet the market’s advances in security technology. Instead of paying the full price tag for the hottest new system, an available technician will teach your burglar alarm dog all of the latest tricks with custom programming. The alarmingly helpful monitoring gurus at Smart Home (http://www.smarthome.com/alarm.html) can refashion your existing system, and say they can recode old systems that existed when you moved into your house. They also remind you to check your contract because if you are considering seeking the services of a separate company, you can only do so once your contract is up—much like the service providers at cellular phone companies. However, the difference with alarm systems and cell phones is that the company of the installed system may own the physical system, and any tampering from another company may be against contract.
Many home alarm systems, including camera monitors and silent laser sensors are put to sleep and conjured awake with the use of a personal-to-you password. Often, the secrecy of password is compromised when the password is accidentally revealed to extended family or guests that are granted access your home. The DIY gurus at doityourself.com suggest not to write the password on anything at all and to only share the password with trustworthy people. Additionally, you may want to consider changing your password at least once a year to make sure that your system remains completely in your hands.
Photo via JanneM
