Most of us have experienced a house lockout. In fact,
“A vehicle or house lockout occurs more than 15,000 times in a day in the United States.”
This happens when we forget or misplace our house keys. In some rare situations, a nasty landlord can lock you out. How do react under these emergency situations? How to prevent a house lockout?
The first thing to do is not to get agitated. Try to think with a clear mind and follow these tips.
9 Ways to successfully prevent a house lockout
Always lock from outside
Most of the lockout instances occur only because we fail to check for keys after locking the door. Most of us just turn the doorknob shut and turn away leaving the door closed. If only we lock the door from outside using the keys, we would never face such lockout instances. Always make a habit of locking the door from outside using the keys. This way, you will never face a lockout situation.
Hide an extra key
This is a good backup solution if you do it right. Do not hide your spare key under the doormats, under the plants, or in the shoe rack. That is where thieves look for it first. Try hiding it in a place where it will not be found by anyone but you.
Give a spare key to someone
Keep a spare key at your friend or neighbor’s place. You can even give one to your landlord if you have good relations.
Use a plastic card
Some people try to use a plastic card or a key to wedge the door open. The easiest option is your credit card or social security card.
Replace bad locks
A faulty lock can leave you locked out and stranded. The best way to prevent this is by repairing or replacing these bad locks on time. Call a reliable residential locksmith to fix these damaged locks at once.
Be ready for power outages
If you have an automatic lock, its door opener will not work without power. If you have plenty of time on your hands, you can wait for power to resume. If you want a 24-hour lock that works even while there is no power, you must have some kind of battery backup. Always have some spare batteries in hand.
Deadbolts can use four 4A batteries or a 9-volt battery. Keyless locks also use 9-volt batteries. You can install or replace these batteries only when the door is open. For this, you must call a professional locksmith for battery replacement.
Change your locks from time to time
On average, a U.S. residential lock lasts for only 7 years. If your lock is old, it can lock you out. Avoid this and call a trusted home locksmith to replace the locks with the latest ones.
Install smart locks or electronic locks
One of the common reasons for a lockout is missing keys. The right way to prevent this is to do away with metal keys altogether. You can install a smart lock used with a smartphone app or an electronic lock with an activation code process. All that these locks need are security code texts that can be numerical or alphanumeric. None can open such kinds of locks except you or your expert locksmith.
Call a professional locksmith
This is the best idea especially if you have smart locks, electronic door locks, or keyless locks with a remote. For such locks, you need to decipher the password or reprogram the chip. Even if you have a smart lock operated on a mobile phone, you cannot open the lock if you forget the password. There are millions of password combinations and it will take days to find the correct one. On the other hand, an expert home locksmith can open the door by doing the right password reset.
Getting locked out of your home is not a pleasant incident. Avoid this by following the above tips. Always have the mobile number of your trusted HOU locksmith on your smartphone. Calling a residential locksmith is the easiest and best thing to do to prevent your present and future house lockouts.