If you are planning to go on holiday soon and your property will be vacant whilst you are away, here are some maintenance tasks you should carry out on your windows before you set off.

Replace any window panes that have hairline cracks

Hairline cracks can form in window panes if they are hit repeatedly by objects like footballs or basketballs or if they are routinely slammed shut. These cracks don't usually have much of an impact on the appearance of a window and won't necessarily affect the pane's ability to prevent cold air or rainwater from getting into the house. Because of this, homeowners who discover these very fine cracks in their properties windows often choose not to have them sealed up.

However, if you're planning to go on holiday and leave your home empty whilst you're away, then it is sensible to seal up these cracks before you go. You can do this by applying some adhesive (one which is suitable for use on glass) onto the crack and adding a sheet of self-adhesive window film to the affected area of the pane.

Hairline cracks in a window can make the pane far weaker. As such, if whilst you are on your travels, a burglar hits one of your slightly-cracked windows with a hammer, the pane will probably instantly shatter and thus provide the burglar with an opening that will enable them to enter your home.

The window with the unrepaired hairline cracks could also shatter if it is struck by a falling branch whilst you are away. This could then result in rainwater getting into the room where the window is located and causing serious damage.

In short, if you don't want your home to be burgled or sustain water damage during your holiday, you should get these tiny cracks in the window panes sealed up.

Check the condition of both the locks and the panels on your exterior shutters

If some of your windows feature exterior shutters, then you should check the condition of the locks and the panels on them before leaving on your holiday.

During this inspection, you should look for signs of corrosion on the locks and wet rot or cracks on the panels. Any damage that you come across whilst inspecting these components should be repaired before you head off on your travels.

Exterior shutters can serve as excellent security features, provided they are in good condition, as they can prevent criminals from accessing and shattering your windows. However, if the lock on one of your exterior shutter sets has corroded or broken or if the wooden panels are soft and pliable as a result of developing wet rot, a burglar could simply break open the lock or pull off these panels, and then gain access to the windows whilst the property is empty.

As such, it's important to ensure that all of the components which your shutters are composed of are in good working order.

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