When to Replace Locks

A lock is your first line of defense when intruders want to come inside your home or your business. So, if you are struggling to figure out if your lock is wearing down or not, then here are some tips on what you should look for, and what you should do next. 

Replacing a lock is a small cost, for something that could be catastrophic, just imagine if the locks around your house aren’t up to date, and you know for sure that someone has a chance to break in. This is the worst-case scenario, and this can be avoided! 

So, to avoid future price gouging mistakes, and avoiding late-night calls to professionals, here are some things to keep a look out for on your locks, and when they need to be replaced. 

Lost or Stolen Keys: 

This one is obvious when trying to keep your doors locked and safe. The chances are that if your keys are lost, then someone else as your keys. Which means that they have a way inside of your house or business, and there’s nothing you can do about it. 

Outdoor locks give an intruder access to your home, and they should be replaced immediately. Never just assume that your keys are lost and no one got to them, it’s just not worth the risk especially to you and your family. 

If you are someone who just frequently loses your keys, then there are some solutions to assist you to make sure that you can keep your keys. For example, Smart Code is combination locks that can be opened by inputting a code into the lock. There are many other solutions like this, that just make life a lot easier if you have trouble keeping track of certain items that you own. There are also biometric security locks that make the user use their fingerprints in order to get through a lock. 

Wear and Tear: 

Checking your locks for rust that might be in your lock. Locks that are old or rusted out are easier to pick and break, and because of this they are more difficult to open with the right key as time goes on, in fact, a lock may be so worn down that any key could work to open the lock. 

Luckily there are locksmiths around who can go around and find the finer details of if your residential or commercial key is busted to the point of no return. This the job of the locksmiths in your area, and there may be problems that they may find that you never thought of, and more! 

One of the key signs that your lock is reaching its endpoint is when it becomes increasingly difficult to open your locks with the current keys that you own. This is an occurrence that is not rare, especially if you have been living in the same place for a while, locks just ware down, that’s part of their cycle of life, and when you begin to feel that a lock is towards it ends the best decision is to just change it right away, because you don’t want to risk it getting worse. 

Break-ins: 

This one is just obvious, if someone were to find their way inside of your residential or commercial property then the chances are they went through one of the doors and probably messed with the locks on the doors to get through. A damaged lock will put you at a higher risk of another robbery and mechanical failures and as a result of the damage can cause a lock malfunction. So, the best thing is to just assume the worst, and that one of your keys might have fallen into the wrong hands, which means you should replace all outside door locks with the keys that might give someone access inside your home. 

New Roommate: 

There are times whenever you have to rent out space in your home and to help protect yourself by re-key or by replacing every time you change tenants. This will give you peace of mind knowing that the locks are secure and that no one of your past tenants will try to get back to their original place of residence. Even if the tenant turned in their key, there is a chance that they made a backup copy to use again, in fact, this is something that has occurred before. 

Rekeying your Locks: 

In some cases, replacing your locks becomes the complicated, expensive decision, when re-keying would have been just as easier because this option is recommended if you don’t feel that your current locks are reliable. So, locksmiths have to different charging rates when it comes to this service, and it’s because changing locks is a lot more difficult than just simply re-keying your locks. 

This can be the solution to all of the scenarios that were listed above, for example, if one of your roommate's leaves, then rekeying is the choice instead of changing the entire lock. All you have to do is call a locksmith to get the job done, and you have to get a new key made along with the job of the locksmith, and the problem is solved because once the job is done the old key is invalid, but the new key will work like a charm. 

Removing a lock, yourself: 

Sometimes changing a lock is a job that can be done, without any outside help. Once you know that you need to change the lock, then means the next big decision, and that is if the job is going to be done by a professional or yourself. 

Whenever you make this decision make sure you have all the right tools, and that you follow whatever directions you have when installing your locks. One mistake can lead to your house being robbed, because the locks that go around your house, are more than just locks. They are what keeps you alive from everything outside.