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Security is important no matter where you are. You might be on a holiday cruise or working hard at your office; being safe is always vital to our well-being. One place that absolutely should be secure for you and your loved ones is your home. Locksmith Pro Evanston offers these helpful tips to add to your residential security and protection. Give it a read and feel free to call us with any questions or advice needed. We offer free consultations and full service, highly affordable lock and key protection for area Evanston, IL homes.
We mean that; don’t start sleeping under the bed or always looking over your shoulder in fear. The world is not out to get you. On the other hand; crime happens in all residential neighborhoods including low income, middle class and high end. Learning to be aware of your surroundings, neighborhood activity and unusual persons or vehicles can go a long way to keeping you safer at home. This advice applies to all residential dwellers including actual homeowners and renters.
Use common sense and start locking your door every time you use it. There was a time in a more innocent age when friends and neighbors could walk freely (and safely) into each other’s homes without problem. This was a time when human interaction was more common. Folks would sit on their porch swings and chat with passersby or visit with a neighbor over a fence while watering the lawn. Residents tend to be more private nowadays and communicate more electronically instead of in person. You don’t have to be stand-offish but thousands of homes are burglarized or invaded every year by intruders who simply walked in through an unlocked door or climbed inside from an open or unlocked window.
The old “key under the mat” idea is not a good one. Someone wanting an easy way to enter your home will look there first. Same goes for the key in the flower pot or over the door sill; bad idea! If you must have a spare key somewhere, try giving one to a trusted neighbor, friend, or family member. Try hiding one under the floor mat in the car or in the barbecue grill in the back yard. Be creative but not obvious; your home safety depends on it.
Locksmith Pro Evanston believes that you don’t have to spend a lot to make your home safer. For instance, you can add a peephole to your door that allows you to see who’s out there before you actually open the door. You can purchase a good peephole at any home improvement store like Home Depot or Lowes or you can call a reputable Evanston, IL locksmith and they will be able to install one for you.
The same goes for deadbolts. Don’t go “cheap or flimsy” as you are defeating the purpose! Have a sturdy deadbolt installed on your front door that adds a second line of security to your home. Deadbolts lock on the outside and have a knob to turn (to unlock) on the inside. Most burglars will not bother breaking into your home if they have to bypass TWO locks instead of just picking one. Sure, they can do it but the extra time it takes to get past your deadbolt allows you to call for help or even arm yourself!
Think about your house key for a minute. Where did you get it? Did the realtor give it to you at closing? Did the property manager hand it over to you when you signed the lease? Who else has held this key or a copy of it? Are there more copies of it in a lock box at the management office or somewhere else? Even new homes have his problem of multiple key copies. The builder, realtor, building inspector, loan officer, contractors, HVAC staff and many others all had access to that key at one time or another. It may even have been in a lock box outside while the home was being listed. Thousands of realtor and loan agents had access to the lock box code in order to show the house, inspect it or leave sales literature and any one of them could have easily and quickly had it duplicated.
Rekeys do not replace the lock; they just make it impossible to use the same key. Rekeys are affordable, quickly done and offer better key control as well as great peace of mind.
If your budget allows, do some lock upgrades at your home! You don’t have to spend a lot in order to do this. Many Evanston, IL residential locksmiths offer free price quotes and affordable prices. Locksmith Pro Evanston does. We invite you to call for more details on bump proof and high security locks for your home.
Lock bumping is becoming more prevalent and happens in neighborhoods of all income levels. Burglars love this method as it is fast, leaves no evidence of forced entry, and requires nothing more than an easily made or procured bump key and a small hammer to tap the key so that it “bumps” the pins inside so that the lock opens. Even a teenager can bump locks in less than 20 seconds, and 90% of home locks today are susceptible to this kind of illegal entry.
High security locks are affordable and also offer huge protection against unwanted intruders. They can’t be picked, pried or even shot open as they are solidly built and better designed for the ultimate in-home protection. The locks on the White House, Pentagon and other high-level places are of this type. You can do a web search on the subject to learn more, or simply give our Locksmith Pro Evanston shop a call and we’ll be glad to provide you with additional information on anything mentioned in this post. We offer same day service, 24-hour emergency help and full service, licensed, insured and bonded technicians.