travel tip

UV rays coming through your windows can fade and discolor carpeting, flooring and furniture upholstery. Thieves may be tempted by a valuable antique sword collection hanging on the wall seen from a picture window. Active kids and pets can damage and stain furniture and floors and break valuables. When you’ve spent time and money to decorate your home, amass a valuable collection or install new flooring, you want to protect it from damage, theft and deterioration. Here’s how:

Protect Against Sun Damage

You may love sitting in the comfy window seat to read a book with the warm sunshine streaming in, but those same rays can fade your belongings including upholstery, carpeting, wood flooring, photos, wallpaper and paintings. Over time, if not mitigated, it can cause materials to fade, dry out, crack, peel, fall apart and break into dust.

Keep damaging sunlight off of your belongings with effective window treatments like blinds or curtains to filter sunlight and keep out snooping eyes. If you like to let natural light in, consider replacing windows with new low-E (low emissivity) windows that absorb UV light. Awnings and window films are other ways to protect against sun damage.

Protect Against Thieves

You love your home and all your belongings. You don’t want to keep them locked away, but you don’t want to advertise anything that might attract thieves either. Private Risk Management Consultant Kathryn Koch recommends that homeowners walk around their homes and look in all the windows and doors, noting what can be seen from the outside. Any valuables in plain sight, such as jewelry, electronics, cash or guns should be put away.

Strong doors that are more than an inch thick also discourage and prevent burglars from gaining entry to your home. A home alarm system with motion detectors, a loud siren and central monitoring is a good deterrent to prevent break ins as well. If you’re active on social media, don’t advertise when you’re going away. Wait until you get back to talk about your vacation online.

Don’t give thieves any place to hide on your property, especially near doors and windows. Trim trees, bushes and shrubs that can harbor thieves and cover any break in activity. Motion detector lights will scare off would-be intruders as well as light your way when you return home at night.

Protect Against Breakage and Mess

Pets, children and lots of traffic through your house can lead to stains, mess and breakage. Interior designers recommend using kid and pet-friendly furnishings in the kids’ rooms and family room. This way you can save better style and design pieces for the living room and dining room. When there’s an active growing family in your house, avoid glass coffee tables, delicate glass display cases and fancy lamps. Opt instead for sturdier wood furniture and accessories that are high enough to be out of reach of little hands and wagging tails. Stick to upholstery that cleans up easily like leather, or use stain-resistant covers for daily protection that can be removed when company comes over.

Wood, ceramic tile and vinyl flooring are the easiest to keep clean in an active household. Resist the urge to splurge on the most expensive carpeting, and use carpet tiles where wood or tile won’t do. If you must have wall-to-wall carpeting, use a pattern and color that won’t show dirt and stains as easily.