Top Tips To Help You Properly Protect Your Garage

Hello World!  Welcome Friends!  In addition to being a place to park vehicles, a garage is usually the main daily entrance and exit to your house as well as a storage space for equipment and tools. Therefore, homeowners must take steps to ensure their garage is well maintained, kept clean, and secured from theft.

Garages should be treated like any other room in a house, especially since it is a space used every day. For homeowners looking to improve the functionality and security of their garage, here are some helpful tips and useful advice.

Fit a Garage Mat to Catch Dirt

Car tires and people’s boots can bring a lot of mud and water into a garage which can make the floor slippery. To avoid hazards and carrying dirt into the home, many people consider getting a garage car mat that can protect the garage floor and provide anti-slip protection. Other reasons for getting a containment mat for a garage floor include:

• It protects the concrete floor and slab it sits on from contaminants and corrosive chemicals which can decay the concrete resulting in increased water damage
• Prevention of further damage to a floor by covering cracks, pitting, and stains
• Cleaning garage mats is simple as they are made from dirt, oil, and water-resistant polyvinyl material
• Less dirt and debris including concrete dust will get into a home due to a garage mat’s ability to collect and contain a range of natural and man-made dirt

Maintain the Garage Door

If not taken care of properly a garage door can increase the risk of being targeted by thieves as damaged and worn garage doors are easy to spot. The telltale signs of a garage door that needs fixing up or replacing are obvious cracks, dents, flaking paints, gaps, leaks, signs of rust, and warping panels.

To ensure burglars are not given easy access to your home it is a good idea to invest in a durable and strong door that will not deteriorate over time due to the weather.

Install Security Lighting

Most burglaries take place at night, with criminals typically breaking into homes and garages that are poorly lit. Powerful lights with motion sensors to trigger a switch can act as a deterrent to home intruders by startling them and making them highly visible to property owners and neighbors.

Ideally, bright lights activated using motion sensors should be placed at key points on a home’s exterior including on the corners of the house and above or near entryways and garage doors.

Regularly Clean Garage Door Sensors

The majority of modern garage doors are now automatic which makes it convenient to open and close them. A safety feature of all electronic garage doors are sensors that alert homeowners if anything is blocking the door from closing such as debris, people, pets, or toys.

Sometimes the safety sensors on a garage door can become dirty resulting in malfunctions and increasing the chance of someone driving away after inadvertently leaving their garage open. Therefore, it is always prudent to clean and test sensors regularly to reduce the risk of theft.

Secure Windows

Windows are weak points vulnerable to burglars in any structure so if a garage has one it needs to be secured properly. A starting point is to cover or remove any valuables that can be seen from the window and work to reduce visibility from outside, this can also be achieved by fitting a blind or curtain. Some people also choose to install frosted or tinted windows and security bars which can be discreetly fitted on the inside or overtly fitted to the exterior to deter would-be thieves.

Install Alarms and Security Cameras

One of the best ways to secure a garage and its contents is to install security alarms and cameras. Many homeowners even like to advertise the fact they have a security system by putting up a sign somewhere visible on the outside of their house, which can deter many burglars from bothering.

The main components of high-end security systems are alarms, motion sensors, and security cameras. When an intruder approaches motion sensors and security cameras will pick them up triggering alarms to sound and lights to turn on. This will then alert the home’s residents, their neighbors, and local law enforcement.

Avoid Thieves Fishing for the Door Release Cord

A key safety feature of many automatic doors is the release cord which is usually red and easy to grab in case of an emergency when the automatic mechanism needs to be stopped. Unfortunately, this safety release cord can also be a weakness when it comes to burglaries as criminals can reach into the garage and pull it to open the door.

To prevent intruders from gaining access to a garage by fishing for the release cord, there are some steps homeowners can take such as tying the cord away at night or installing a plastic guard in front of the cord.

Secure Entry Doors

In addition to a large main door, garages also usually have exterior side doors and interior doors with access to the house. These can be weak points in a properties’ defenses against theft, so it is vital that homeowners check they are fully secured. Ways to strengthen entry doors are to add deadbolts, extra locks, larger hinges, support bars, and stronger screws.

Keep Garage Door Remotes Safe

Garage door remotes should be treated just like a key to your home so they should be kept safe at all times. Occasionally people will store their garage door remote in their cars whilst at work or shopping, however, a thief can easily break into a car, steal the remote and get access to a home. To keep a remote secure at all times, it can be added to a keyring that stays in a person’s pocket or home at all times.

Garages provide an excellent space to park cars and provide an alternative access point to a home, however, they can quickly become damaged from chemicals, dirt, and water or broken into by thieves if not secured and taken care of properly. Therefore, homeowners should ensure they take all the necessary security measures and maintenance to keep a garage secure.

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