7 Tips to Maintain Your Video Surveillance System

May 27th, 2024

To ensure your surveillance system in Baltimore, MD is performing at its best, performing regular scheduled maintenance is recommended. Regular maintenance allows you to get the most optimal performance out of your surveillance system and protect your investment.

We've compiled 7 of our best tips for keeping your video surveillance system in Baltimore, MD maintained.

1. Prune and Clip Landscaping

Look around. Do all of your outdoor security cameras have an unobstructed view, or is your landscaping out of control? Keep landscaping, including the bushes, vines and trees neatly pruned and clipped, to ensure optimal viewing and to prevent the camera view from becoming obstructed. Imagine taking a look at your security video, only to find that a bush or branch of a tree was blocking the view of your security camera. Additionally, you'll want to be on the lookout for webs from spiders and bird nests and nests from insects such as wasps that may have sprung up near your cameras and remove them accordingly to provide an unobstructed view.

2. Clean Lenses

Inspect all of your outdoor and indoor security camera lenses. Are they spotless and free of dirt and grime? Examine lenses for unwanted water spots, smudges, mud, and dust on your camera lenses. Dirty lenses prevent you from get a clear image, regardless of whether you have a camera that produces high-resolution images or not. To ensure the best possible image quality, it's best to clean your security camera lenses regularly and thoroughly. Begin by using a can of compressed air to blow air at the lens to remove any loose particles or debris. Then you can very gently wipe off the camera lens with a microfiber cloth.

3. Inspect Camera Housing

Perform a thorough inspection of your camera housing and enclosures. Is there water anywhere? It's important to open the housing of your video security cameras to check condensation, droplets of water, dirt and other debris. If you find any of the aforementioned elements inside your camera enclosure, it's a sure sign that it's not protecting your camera and that will have an effect on camera performance.

4. Check Connectors for Corrosion

Inspect your connectors for any sign of corrosion. Promptly replace any connectors that are corroded. This is important because corroded connectors can cause your video security equipment to short circuit.

5. Ensure Cabling is Securely Connected to Your Security Equipment

Check every one of your cable connections, including the cables that are connected to your surveillance cameras, DVR or NVR. It's important to make sure that all of your cables are connected securely and that your equipment is receiving power. Be on the lookout for cables that are wearing out, splitting, cracking or showing holes. Cables with wires that are exposed need to be replaced. All of your outdoor cameras need to be sealed at entry and the cable should have a drip loop. You can create a drip loop in the shape of a U with your cables to inhibit water from forming a pool and getting inside your surveillance camera.

6. Remove Dust from Your DVR or NVR

See any dust on your DVR or NVR? A layer of dust can form over time on your video which may affect performance. It's important to lightly dust your equipment regularly. You can wipe your NVR/DVR with a soft cloth such as microfiber, and to remove dust may have gotten inside the crevices of the equipment, you can use compressed air in a can to gently blow it out. Clean the outside surfaces only. Removing the enclosure of your DVR or NVR is not recommended.

7. Examine Your Power Supplies

You'll also want check your video security system's power supplies to make sure that your surveillance system hasn't lost power due to a thunderstorm, brownout, blackout deliberate tampering, power surge or some other unwanted event. If your system is connected to a UPS, look for warning lights on the UPS and see if the battery is fully charged.

To ensure that your security cameras are receiving their full power requirements, you can use a voltmeter to test them. A camera that receives too little or too much power can cause the camera to fail much more quickly, and it's much easier and less expensive to replace a faulty power supply than it is to replace a security camera.

Performing regular, scheduled maintenance for your surveillance system will enable you to maximize the performance of your system and protect your investment.