BestSecurityBlog

You try not to think about your loved ones valuables and belongings being at risk for theft while they are residing in an assisted living facility. The harsh reality is that theft is a common occurrence at nursing homes and assisted care facilities. With staff and visitors frequently coming and going and having access to resident’s rooms, it is easy to understand how theft can occur. But how can we prevent theft? Purchasing a safe for your loved one can give you the comfort of knowing that their valuables will be safe and secure.

What kind of safe should you look for? There are a few options available that would be beneficial in an assisted living situation. Biometric safes, or fingerprint safes, offer the advantage that there is no code that the resident will have to remember. Biometric safes also allow greater security because only the resident will be able to access the safe, limiting staff issues with theft. The main disadvantage of biometric safes is that these types of safes sometimes have difficulty reading the fingerprints of the elderly, but all biometric safes come with a key override to avoid being locked out of your safe.

Electronic keypad safes would also be advantageous in a nursing home situation. Electronic keypad safes offer simple access and since you use a code, there is no key to lose, although most come with key override as well. The disadvantages to using electronic keypad safes would be that the resident might not be able to remember the code or have the physical ability to actually push the buttons on the safe. Staff could also see the code being entered into the safe and therefore gain access as well.

Safes that use only a key to unlock will also aid in the prevention of nursing home theft. The advantage would be that there is no code to remember and only one way to access the lock. The disadvantage to this is if the resident were to lose the key. The keys could also be stolen or possibly copied. Two keys are usually issued with safes and it would be a good idea to have the resident keep one key and you keep the other so you will always have a backup if one is lost. Plus, it will diminish the possibility that someone else could get a hold of the other key.

The type of safe you invest in is purely a matter of preference as there are advantages and disadvantages to each type of safe as previously discussed. The situation or conditions that you are faced with will also determine what type of safe would suite your loved one best. Knowing that belongings and valuables are safe and secure from theft can ease at least some of the worries that go along with having a loved one in an assisted living facility.

So you are looking into buying a safe. You start to browse and feel overwhelmed by the vast options and varieties that are available to you. With so many safes available it becomes confusing to determine one will work out the best for your specific needs. Where do you begin? Here are a few tips to get you started in the right direction.

One of the first things you need to determine is what is going to be stored inside the safe. There are a wide variety of sizes and determining how much room that you will need inside your safe is an essential. Is it jewelry, documents, files, guns, media, etc.? There are safes made specifically for these different items, therefore determining your exact purpose for buying a safe can help narrow down the options available to you. Once you determine what the main use of your safe is going to be then you can begin to dig deeper into the options available. For example, if you are looking for a gun safe you would consider how many guns you need to store as well as the type of guns you are storing in your safe, which will determine the size safe that you require.

If you are looking to secure your jewelry and valuables in your safe, do you need it to be hidden, secured to the floor, fire or TL rated? The fire rating tells you how effectively the safe will withstand certain temperatures and for what length of time. The TL rating is given after testing the product using high speed drills, saws, and other impact tools. So a TL-15 rating would mean that the safe would resist damage for 15 minutes if subject to the types of tools listed previously.

Once you figure out what is going inside your safe you need to determine where you would like your safe to be located. If you are looking to purchase a wall safe, you need to determine where the studs in the wall are located for proper installation. You would also need to determine if you would like the wall safe to be hidden and if so, determining if the safe will stick out from the wall and what could be used to hide the safe. If you are interested in a closet safe, do you want it installed on the floor or mounted to the wall? You will also need to know where the studs are if you choose to install your closet safe to the wall.

If you are interested in a gun safe you need to make sure that your door openings are large enough to fit the safe through without damaging the doorframe and also if your floor will support the weight of the safe you are looking to purchase. Many gun safes are extremely heavy and will require assistance in delivery and installation to your location. If you are thinking about purchasing a floor safe you need to consider a few different things. The location of the safe will have to be on a 1^st floor and it will require you to excavate a cavity in your concrete floor for your safe to fit inside. If you are building a house it is much cheaper to do this when the concrete is being poured as opposed to doing it later on. Many floor safes are also fireproof or fire resistant. Even without those fire ratings, floor safes still have an advantage when fires do occur as there is only one side of the safe exposed to damage.

So where do you purchase a safe? Many local retailers and locksmiths have safes in stock. The benefit of buying local is that you have the safe immediately and can view the product in the store to assess if it is going to suite your needs. The downside is that it is usually more expensive and you have a far more restricted selection.  You can also purchase safes from online retailers. The benefit of purchasing online is that prices are usually around 30% less expensive than those sold by local retailers or locksmiths. There is also a wide variety of safes available online and there are some brands and models that you can customize to fit your exact needs. The downside to online safe purchases is shipping cost, which will depend on the weight of the safe you are looking at and the site you purchase it from. Many sites, such as www.primarysafes.com  and www.bestsecuritysite.com , offer free shipping on select models. Not being able to physically view the product may also be an issue, so be sure to find a site that has a lot of information on the safes they sell and are available to contact via telephone to answer any question or concerns you may have.

Hopefully after reading this article you feel better equipped to start looking for a safe that fits your specific needs. It can be confusing with all of the options available but starting with your basic needs for a safe and then building upon those needs will narrow down your choices and make the process of purchasing a safe a lot easier. Good luck and happy shopping!