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Don’t Let Your Guard Down When You Vacation

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Summertime is vacation time, which is the perfect opportunity to forget everything back home and not worry about everyday life. While you relax at your destination, you shouldn’t be worrying about whether your neighbor Bob is really keeping an eye on the place. Most homeowners should consider a remote access security system.

Prepare

It doesn’t have to be difficult to prepare to go on vacation. We gave some tips a couple of months ago about traveling, but there are some additional tips that people often forget about. Experts recommend that you avoid leaving any hidden keys outside of your house, and instead give them to a trusted family member in case of emergency.

Another precaution that can be easy to forget is to make sure that your alarms have fresh batteries if they are battery operated and that they are set once you leave.

Simply making it more difficult for a burglar to enter your home can be enough to stop many burglary attempts, as they usually look for easy targets. Law enforcement recommends making sure every window and door in the house is locked so you can be sure that your house isn’t an easy target. Brivo’s technology makes preparation easy. Even if you forget to lock a door or close the garage, your smart system will alert your smartphone and you can then secure your home from wherever you are.

Monitor

Once you are on vacation, it is a good idea to “pop in” to check on things occasionally. Not physically of course, but if you use Ideal Partner’s home monitoring with remote access, you can have access to many of your home’s features from your phone. It allows you to check the thermostat, lights, and locks. It can also be programmed to send email updates to your phone.

Another good idea is to let a neighbor or trusted friend know you are going to be gone. If you are comfortable enough with them, you can also ask them to stop by and check on the house occasionally while you are vacationing.

Live video feed can also be an option if you don’t have anyone available to physically keep an eye on your home. Ideal Partners utilizes state-of-the-art technology from partners like Eagle Eye to enable remote access home monitoring with high-definition cameras.

When your time comes, kick back, relax, and enjoy your time away from home. Let Ideal Partners worry about your home’s security so your vacation can be as relaxing as it is meant to be.

an image of texas homes covered in ice, sleet, and snow

Winterizing Your North Texas Home

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We’ve seen some brutal winters here in North Texas in recent years. Preparing for the worst of the worst should always be in your plans, but there are a lot of other challenges you need to prep for this time of year. So while you may ultimately have to prepare for life without power, don’t forget about the other basics of protecting your home and family during the holiday and winter seasons.

1. Make sure your house is safely heated. Portable space heaters are responsible for 1,700 house fires a year and 80 deaths annually, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Placing heaters too close to things that can burn like upholstered furniture, clothing, mattresses, curtains, bedding, paper, or flammable liquids can cause dangerous fires. The best solution is a well-maintained HVAC system, but if you must use portable heaters, use them safely. Important tips when shopping for a space heater include the UL label, a ”tip over” switch, a thermostat, and an oxygen sensor. Read more about portable heater safety here.

2. Make sure your house is equipped with fire extinguishers and an alarm system. Ideal Partners can test and recharge your home fire extinguishers. Ideal can also install fire alarm and smoke detector systems as well as sprinkler systems to assure that your home is safe.

3. Get your HVAC system serviced. The last thing you want to be without in the cold months is your heating system. If your HVAC system is not prepared for freezing temperatures, pipes may burst and cause leaks. HVAC companies may also be overbooked to be able to come fix your system during the peak of winter. Get ahead of the curve by calling Ideal Partners to service your system and get your HVAC system ready for winter.

4. Make sure the rodents stay outside. You know this drill. When it gets cold outside, rodents and insect wants to come inside. Check weather stripping, windows, door frames and any holes larger than a quarter of an inch on the outside of your house. Also check around piles of logs, tree limbs, leaves, and clutter because critters love to snuggle up there. And make sure food is put away inside the house too. Ideal Partners can help here too with programs specific to your home and the critters that want to come inside.

5. Make sure your home is secure. Crime rates increase during the holidays so make sure your home is protected with a security system. Ideal Partners offers alarms, cameras and state of the art systems that can be checked and programmed from practically anywhere.

6. Also remember to: wrap your exposed outdoor pipes, check for drafts and air leaks, and winterize your plants. In other words, do whatever you can to prep your home.

As you know, winters in North Texas can be erratic and unpredictable. Cool, breezy days can turn to dangerous conditions in a brief period of time. Remember to cover the basics, prepare for the worst and to always put safety first. Check out some additional measures you can take to winterize your home here. And call Ideal Partners now to get your HVAC system winter ready, so you don’t have to call later to get it repaired!