Protect Your Home From Vandalism and Burglary

Fire Damage Cleanup MinneapolisWe recently had a mitigation job come in that was a result of a break in and vandalism. The homeowners were wintering down south and had a family member watching their home. Thankfully this family member checked in when they did.

The vandals turned on all the faucets and left the water running when they left. They also attempted to start a fire by leaving some towels close to the stovetop burners while on. Thankfully in this case, attempting to start a fire was unsuccessful. In my research to write this blog I found out that authorities call this technique by vandals a “slow burn.”

When you go on vacation, or simply leave for work in the morning, the last thing you want to worry about is the security of your home. Visibly empty houses are prime targets for vandalism or break-ins, and the threat is real. According to the FBI, more than 2.1 million burglaries occur in the U.S. nearly every year, with an average $2,100 dollar loss per incident.

Tips to Protect Your Home from Vandalism

By now, you probably know the drill: always lock your doors and windows, stop your mail and newspapers prior to vacations, and put your lights on a timer.  Here are some additional helpful suggestions to prevent you from becoming a victim of a burglary or vandalism:

  • Don’t post your travel plans on social media sites, talk about your trip with casual acquaintances, or leave notes on the front door indicating that you’re not home.
  • Install outdoor lighting (activated by a photocell or movement) to illuminate the area around your home at night.
  • Consider purchasing a security system that directly alerts police to intruders if you live in a higher crime area.
  • Turn down the volume on your answering machine and ringer so that it can’t be heard outside.
  • Leave shades, blinds and curtains in normal positions, but be sure to keep valuables out of sight.
  • Cover the windows in your garage door so no one can see that your car is gone.
  • Trim shrubs and large trees so trespassers have fewer hiding spots.
  • Leave a locked vehicle in your driveway or have your neighbor park there if you go out of town.
  • Ask a family member, friend, neighbor or pay a service to take out your garbage, shovel the walk or mow your lawn.
  • Whenever possible, especially in the winter, make sure to shut your main water valve before you leave for a night or longer. Not only could it possibly help or prevent some of the situation that happened to the homeowner I mentioned above, but it’s a good precautionary step to take to prevent a water damage from a busted (burst pipe) or frozen pipe that may occur when you are gone.

If you or anyone you know should fall victim to vandalism, you can be rest assured that 24Restore’s highly trained property damage restorers can handle everything from the board up to getting your home or business exactly as it was before the tragedy.

“24Restore came within an hour of our water damage to assess the problem and restore and reconstruct our kitchen and my office. Everyone from 24Restore was professional, kind and did an outstanding job of damage assessment and restoration.”

- Barbara R.

Your service was excellent. The young man was thorough and very dedicated to completing the job. He’s a good one. I would recommend your services to anyone who need them.

- Keith

Your team has been absolutely amazing, professional, sympathetic and wonderful. They took my mess and made it manageable as I shed a few tears, which they also consoled with empathy. At a time when we have floods and tornados city wide you responded within hours. Thank, I am impressed and I have passed the word on to many.

- Genie

Very good experience……everyone I dealt with through 24 Restore was very professional and very kind.

- Nancy

This note is a note of thanks and appreciation of the services provided…..we could even say our home looks better than before we incurred our water damage…Job well done!

- Jay and Susan

I don’t often take the time to write a follow up complimentary letter. However I was very impressed with 24 Restore and felt they went above and beyond to surpass expectations with WOW service. Thank you for the great service and great job that your team did to get my house back in shape.

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I have recommended them to many of my friends. They are the only service that I have ever used that always gets my stains out and that clean my carpets beautifully. I can’t say enough good thins about them

- Laura

Thank you for all the work put in to get out home……It would have been an impossible task for us to have accomplished in such a short time. We appreciate all that you have done for us! We are so grateful!

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Yes. I appreciated the ability to funnel all activities thru a one-stop shop proved to be very valuable in a disaster project such as ours demo, construction and finish as well as work directly with insurance company. The team has been professional and those on site have been respectful of our home and schedule.

- Reed

Alex did a great job scheduling, coordinating, and keeping me informed. He made sure that everything was done in a timely manner. I always felt that my job was a priority. All the workmen did a great job and were very polite. I am pleased with the results. I would highly recommend your company!

- Linda – Minneapolis

From the time of initial contact to the time of job completion was 24 hrs. Very pleased with job outcome. Will definitely use you again. If ever in need.

- Kevin – St. Paul

Response time was awesome. We we’re bewildered by what was happening and what needed to be done. 24hr came in and took care of what needed to be done.

- Susan – Plymouth

I thought 24 was very professional and timely work.

- Veronica – Lake Elmo

24Restore was very responsive and did a thorough job plus they cleaned up after themselves.

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The job was exceptionally well done. You were recommended to me by Dennis Carlson, a freind and I would definatley refer 24restore to friends and family.

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Very Professional!

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Everyone was on top of everything and got back to me in a reasonable time. Clean up was done absolutely perfect at the end of each job.

- Pam – Arden Hills

The guys who worked here were great, polite, personable and hard workers. They did a great job! So thankful this is over!

- Ron and Jackie – Minneapolis

Working with the employees at 24restore has been an easy process. They aimed to please.

Kudos to Shelli Abraham especially, she worked with the mortgage company and insurance company so I didn’t have to, I’m a caregiver for my husband with Dementia, she took the pressure off having to deal with them, thanks Shelli.

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