Everyone has valuable items that they would hate to lose to theft, fire, flood or other misfortune: important personal documents, cash, valuable jewelry, collectibles, keepsakes and sensitive data are all among the belongings our customers want to keep safe and secure. To that end, more and more people are buying home safes in Bergen County, NJ, and we at Atlas Lock & Key Co. Inc. are here to assist with the selection, installation and maintenance of those safes.
But it’s not as simple as just going out and buying any old safe. There are several important factors to consider, depending on what you’re intending to keep locked up, what your biggest perceived threats might be, and how often you might need to access your valuables.
Choosing the right safe
A big part of using a home safe is determining which safe best suits your needs. For some people, burglary is the top concern, but the most frequent concern is actually fire. A safe that can protect your belongings in the event of a fire should be able to keep them secure for up to an hour, which is sufficient for most house fires, at temperatures up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for paper products. However, heat thresholds for other media, such as cassettes and CDs, is considerably lower.
With this in mind, the main consideration when picking out a safe should be its ability to protect the specific belongings you need it to protect. While no safe is going to provide 100 percent security, there’s no point taking your chances with a safe that doesn’t even provide minimal protection for your possessions.
Keeping your safe secure
The mere act of locking your belongings away in a safe does not automatically render them secure. Your safe can be at risk from precisely the things you think you’re being protected from if you don’t take some steps to keep it secure. First, the location of your safe can be an important factor. While the master bedroom might seem like a logical place to put your safe, it probably also seems that way to burglars. Depending on how often you need to access your safe, a more out of the way location might be preferable.
But even if you do wind up needing to put your safe in a location that’s easily accessible—and you certainly shouldn’t make it so hard to access that you can’t get to it—making certain it’s secured to your home should prevent thieves from making off with it. A safe that can be bolted to the floor is a safe that’s worth trusting with your valuables and important papers.
Choosing and installing the best safe for your valuables is a process that requires careful attention and benefits from the input of skilled professionals. Atlas Lock & Key Co. Inc. has more than 30 years of experience as a top locksmith services provider and retailer of home safes in Bergen County, NJ. If you’re thinking of installing a safe in your home, we’d love to help you choose the best model for your needs.