Top tips on keeping your home safe this winter

Home Safety - Winter Burglary - Misty Glaze

Home safety in winter

Nights are drawing in and mornings are darker due the later sun rise. Unfortunately, this gives burglars and intruders the setting they like to operate in.

At Misty Glaze we get called out and see the impacts and devastating effect on what a burglary cause. There are many ways to help prevent or at the very least reduce the chance of this happening to you.

  1. Never leave keys in back doors, this is a prime target that burglars prey on, it gives them the easy access in and out of the property by breaking the glass, most doors are made with toughened safety glass and this means that it’s all safe for burglars. Toughened safety glass breaks into little pieces and a large opening will be left for an intruder to gain access.
  2. Always keep a radio or lights on, especially if you know you’re going to be out all day and night.
  3. Dogs are a great distraction, even a simple sign warning of a guard dog can scare a intruder.
  4. CCTV is very good, but if budgets are tight, some simple signs in windows warning that CCTV is in operation can be very beneficial, eBay is a great place to find these signs at very low prices.
  5. Glass alarms can scare a burglar. A simple device that sticks on the inside of you double glazed window pane. When the glass is touched or attacked, a loud noise will occur. The sensitivity can be adjusted ‎to stop any unwanted distractions when at home.
  6. Prikka strips are thin sharp plastic strips that can be installed on top of gates, fences and you can even bend them into arch shape for those arched doors and gates. This will stop any intruders from climbing ‎over gates and fences.
  7. Purchase window safety film. This will make the glass harder to break when toughened safety glass is present. This is the cheaper option, laminated double glazed units can be upgraded, this is a very good option to stop impact and help prevent a break in.

We have noticed over the last couple of years a big increase in glass units being smashed. Most commonly on aluminium bi fold doors and patio doors. Home intruders use screw drivers to bend the profile of the door. Leaving metal on the edge of toughened safety glass causes both panes to break. Laminated glass would prevent this, they have started top use this method on uPVC doors.

Thanks for reading