Should I Have a Safe in My Home?

A home safe can be a smart investment for many individuals and families. However, it’s important to understand the different kinds of safes available, and what valuables they are designed to protect.

If you store your valuables in the wrong kind of safe, you can actually do more damage to your belongings than you do good. Talk with our Lockout Locksmiths professionals to learn about the different kinds of safes and locks available on the market today. We would be more than happy to help educate you on how to keep all your most important things protected in your Ferndale home.

Types of Safes

While there are home safes designed for the majority of uses out there, here are some of the most popular, general-use types available. Some require professional installation, while others are ones you can handle on your own. Feel free to talk with one of our home-security experts if you have any questions about any safe.

Portable Safes

Small, portable safes can be handy for storing a few important items. The advantages of a portable safe are that it can be easily hidden due to its size and easily transported from one location to another. The main disadvantage is that they can also be taken by a thief. As a result, the best things to store in a portable safe are things that are valuable to you but not to a burglar.

Fire-Resistant Safes

Sometimes people are more interested in protecting important documents such as social security cards, insurance papers, power-of-attorney papers, wills, passports, and extra cash in the case of a fire. Although there is really no such thing as a completely fireproof safe, many can tolerate significant heat for a few hours. According to Safety.com [LINK: https://www.safety.com/best-home-safes/], an expert home-security information site, most fire-resistant safes can withstand temperatures of 1000 degrees Fahrenheit for up to two hours.

Wall or Floor Safes

Although some experts recommend storing valuables in a safety-deposit box in a bank or financial institution, many others say that a safe bolted securely to your floor or in the wall is just as secure for your STATE home. Floor safes are generally fire-resistant and hidden, while wall safes are out of the reach of children and easily located behind a picture for easy access.

Media Safes

If you are seeking to protect old photographs, film negatives, videos, tape recordings, magnetic files, or flash drives, be sure you invest in a data or media safe. These are specially designed to keep heat inside the safe at 125 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Items such as these can easily be ruined in a standard fire-resistant safe.

Lock Types

Four basic locking mechanisms are available on most home safes: key, combination, electronic, and biometric:

• The old-fashioned key lock is still a standby on many home safes and can provide reasonable security for most individuals, as well as quick access. The disadvantage is the key can be lost, and the lock may be compromised.
• Also a proven security method, combination locks work well for other owners. Remembering a combination may be easier than keeping track of a physical key, but it can take a little extra time to access the contents of the safe.
• Electronic locks are growing in popularity, providing programmable codes and easy access. However, it’s important to change the access code frequently so a worn keypad does not easily give away the code. In addition, battery and electric failure can cause problems with this mechanism.
• Biometric locks are another futuristic lock option. These locks use fingerprint, voice, or face recognition technology as the unlocking mechanism. Although these locks are not yet in wide use, they are an interesting security development to watch in the future.

Call Us for Your Home-Safe Needs

Whether you are looking for assistance with selecting a safe or a lock, our home-security experts at Lockout Locksmiths in Ferndale Michigan, are standing by to help. Call us at 248-321-2244 or contact us online today.