Leaving These 13 Things at Your Front Door Could Keep You Safe (2023)

FAQs

What can you do to protect your home from thieves when you are away? ›

Don't leave keys on the inside of door locks or window ledges near the door as burglars can break a window and reach inside and unlock the door. Remove keys from view and keep them in a safe place. Don't leave your name and address on any key tags.

Glass Front Doors are Solid, Safe Options

They can be both beautiful and safe options when you want to upgrade the entryway of your home. Exploring the variety of glass and safety options available will help you find the right look for your front door without compromising safety.

While there are a number of materials you can choose from, like wood, aluminum, and fiberglass, without a doubt, the safest front door material is heavy-duty steel. And, even though steel doors are the strongest and have a number of other benefits, they are also the least expensive type of door as well.

Generally, they're looking for things they can sell for large sums of money. So, what are the items that robbers want to find in your home? Jewelry and Cash: These are two straightforward items burglars aim for. They're also the leading items that homeowners report stolen.

They often pick a house by surveilling the neighborhood and finding the one with the most predictable patterns of when people come and go. They also look for properties in more rural or isolated parts of the neighborhood, and houses that are well maintained or have fancy cars in the driveway.

Even if you don't have a porch, avoid putting the keys on a sideboard in the hallway. Keep them well inside your home and even consider putting them in a safe overnight. If a thief did manage to get hold of your keys, you want to make it as difficult as possible for them to steal the car.

Why you should lock your door at night? ›

It's highly recommended that you lock your house at night because it deters opportunistic burglars and potential attackers. It also keeps your vulnerable loved ones inside, especially sleepwalkers and small children. Locking up prevents dangerous animals or weather conditions from ruining your home.

To feel safe in your room at night, put an empty glass on the door handle before going to sleep. If anyone comes into your room, the glass will fall onto the floor and the sound will wake you up.

Front Door Curtain Ideas

Hanging an entrance curtain over your front door offers a multitude of benefits. A stunning way to frame your doorway, it can also be a stylish solution to reducing heat loss in your home. A heavy fabric curtain will help to prevent cold air passing through a drafty entranceway.

What are the 3 weakest points of a door? A door is usually most vulnerable at its strike plate, its hinges, and its existing lock hardware. Burglars and criminals are prone to attacking these points because that's where it's easiest to get in.

Steel. Steel is the best material for a front door if security is your top priority. This tough metal is stronger than all other door products. It provides excellent protection against forced entries and is less likely to crack or warp.

How can you tell if someone is casing your house? ›

Security cameras will generally deter and reduce burglary. If you install a security camera, your home is 300 % safer from break-ins than a home without a camera. Criminals don't want to be watched or recorded-this is one of the major reasons they are so effective.

Burglars Know Where to Find the Goods

Hint: Your master bedroom is the first stop. There are many vulnerable spots in your home. Most people keep valuables in their bedrooms, so no surprise that is the first stop for a thief.

About 75 percent of burglars revealed that the bedroom was the first place they'd look for things to steal. Meanwhile, 26 percent said they'd check in an office or study, and 19 percent said the living room would be top on their lists (the burglars could choose more than one answer).

Most burglaries happen in the summertime between the summer months of June and August. Frequent home invasions happen between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm when the home owners are commonly away from the home. However, 27.6% of all home burglaries, someone is home during a burglary.

Knowing when most burglaries occur is powerful information. The most common times for break-ins occur between 10 am and 3 pm. Rather than being guarded by night, most burglars choose the daytime to attempt a break-in, targeting homes when they believe no one will be present.

According to her research, an overwhelming majority of burglars enter homes through the doors and windows. Thirty-four percent use the front door, while 22 percent get in through the back door. Twenty-three percent use first-floor windows. And oftentimes, those doors and windows aren't even locked.

Prevent car theft by wrapping your car key fob in foil. Yes, that's right — a piece of tinfoil can stop your car from getting stolen. Key fobs might be convenient, but there's a security risk associated with them. Thieves can use devices that will amplify fob signals to cars or copy the code to get into a vehicle.

What time do car thieves break in at night? ›

Car thieves tend to steer clear of highly-visible areas, especially if there are security cameras or nosy neighbors around. This is especially important at night between 2 and 5 a.m. Since most people are asleep, that's the most common time for cars to be stolen.

A Lock Box

Mini safes designed for keys will allow you to store your extra key safely outside your home or even your vehicle. They're small enough that you can place them on a car but large enough to be easy to use.

Per the FSRI, sleeping with your door closed can greatly reduce the spread of carbon monoxide from other rooms to the bedroom. In fact, a closed door can help keep carbon monoxide levels at 1,000 PPM versus 10,000 PPM with an open door.

Never Let your Bed Face a Door

Feng Shui experts explain that your bed facing a door (be it the main bedroom door or a balcony door) is bad luck because the door will “pull” your energy away from you as you sleep.

It is highly recommended to shut all bedroom entries each night while sleeping. Closed doors slow the spread of flames and smoke in case of fire. They also help block noises that can inhibit a good night's sleep. In addition, it allows for faster reaction times to possible intruders in the home.

All it says is aluminum foil can be used as an alternative to tape to cover doorknobs and hardware while painting. It has nothing to do with safety and the inclusion of the phrase "when you're home alone" was only used as clickbait to make the ad seem more important. Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc.

Wrap foil over sink handles and doorknobs to avoid fingerprints.

What happens when you wrap your door handle in foil? ›

When you're doing home renovation, wrap aluminum foil around your door handles to keep them paint-free. The foil is easy to shape around any doorknob and can be tossed when it gets dirty. This is only one of our TikTok painting hacks!

Not only do closed curtains help add a little extra warmth to your bedroom and prevent onlookers, they have a strong effect on your quality of sleep.

Leaving them closed during the day makes it look like there's no one at home so best to leave them open and get security lighting. Try not to leave valuable items, such as your TV, stereo or computer, where thieves can see them.

Window blankets are a very effective way to improve heat retention by keeping out drafts. They can also be used to reduce heat coming into a window.

A door barricade is one of the best ways to reinforce the door. Once you install it on the inside, it can prevent break-in even through the weakest model. Once you decide to open the entrance, you need to slide the barricade from its base plate. Another option is to mount a security bar.

Door jammers are some of the most effective types of security devices, and they're a great option for anyone looking for a simple way to enhance their door's safety. They're also especially useful for renters and travelers who don't have permission to permanently alter the lock on their door.

For a door that opens out, build a wall by stacking desks or propping a table up in order to block the intruder's ability to see inside the room once the door is opened. For a door that swings in, push heavy furniture against it, prop a chair under the handle or use door jams.

Iron front doors are. They are injected with polyurethane foam insulation to create a solid and sturdy one-piece threshold with the door jamb. They also feature solid bars welded to the door when there is glass on the door. The glass itself is thick tempered glass, which means it is harder to break.

What to do if someone is knocking on your door in the middle of the night? ›

Should you answer the door when a stranger knocks? The short answer is yes, however, answer from behind a locked door. The reason for this is, many thieves knock on the door to find out if someone is at home. If someone answers, they avoid the house because they are looking for an easy target.

Air rushing past an open window creates a low pressure at the window. This then drags air out of the window creating a vacuum inside the house. This can then cause air movement through the house, in turn slamming doors. This is known as the Bernoulli effect.

Front door: 34% of burglars twist the doorknob and walk right in. First-floor windows: 23% use a first-floor open window to break into your home. Back door: 22% come in through the back door. Garage doors: 9% gain entrance through the garage.

Jam a chair under the doorknob.

You may have seen this in the movies – and it really works! Bear in mind that this method only works if the door opens inward. Warning: If someone tries to force the door open from the outside, there is a chance that the chair will break.