Locksmith in Wothersome – Lemon Locksmith & Security: 24/7

Avoid Getting Locked Out With These Tips

Have you ever realized your keys are missing or you have forgotten them in your home and the door is locked? This is a nightmare for every homeowner that needs to get inside the home quickly. You can use your spare keys to get in, but what if you are not carrying any copies of your apartment keys? What if you have not left keys with your neighbors, friends, or family?

Basically, your best bet is to call a locksmith, as they are the only professionals who can help you get in safely. But there are other ways to get inside a locked house without using keys. Before we get there, we have listed a few tips that can help you prevent such emergency situations. Let’s take a look.

Check Your Keys Before Leaving

Make a habit of checking your pockets and wallets for the keys before closing the door. Lockouts happen when you forget the keys inside and shut the door in a hurry. If you tend to miss your keys often, hang a keyholder near the door so you’ll always be reminded to grab the keys before leaving.

Or, you can put the keys in your wallet, purse, or whatever you carry to work every day. You are also less likely to forget the keys when they are stored with other accessories that you take to work every day. For instance, your smartphones, wallets, and office bags are some basics that you carry every day. So, keeping your house or car keys with these accessories will ensure that they won’t be forgotten inside.

Keep Spare Keys

Always carry spare keys just in case you lose the original or forget them inside your apartment. Most people have the habit of carrying spare keys, as they come in handy when you get locked out of your apartment. Besides, everyone has different working hours.

You don’t want your family to wait for you outside the door because only you have the keys. So, people often get a few spare keys so that every member of the family can get in and out when they want. However, spare keys are essential for all homeowners. Whether you live with your family or alone, you should always keep an extra set handy just in case.

Hide Your Keys

This one is a little unsafe, but when done correctly, you will never have to worry about lockouts. You can find various key containers that will conceal your keys such that they won’t be noticed easily. Other than that, you can use a lockbox and hide it somewhere only you can access. Avoid hiding your keys under the doormat or anywhere near the door, as intruders tend to check these places.

Install a Smart Lock

A smart lock can lock and unlock the door on receiving signals from the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth of the registered mobile. These also operate with access cards and other electronic devices. The ones that operate with smartphones are the best. These are much better than physical keys, which can be misplaced, stolen, or simply forgotten inside the house. With smart locks, you just need your smartphone near the door and it will lock and unlock automatically.

The smart lock follows the commands of the mobile app to operate. You can also control it remotely, depending on the type of locks installed. This enables you to open the door for your neighbors, friends, or family when you are not home.

You can also use these locks to give your colleagues or a special friend temporary access to your house in your absence. The locks are compatible with Alexa, Siri, and other voice assistants. If you often lose your keys or are concerned about lockouts, call Locksmith Wothersome to install a smart lock.

Switch to Electronic Combination Lock

Electronic combination locks are another keyless alternative to key-operated locks. As the name suggests, you need to configure the lock to respond to your selected password. It’s a combination of digits. The locks are usually hard-wired, but you can find battery-operated locks too. It’s just like an ATM.

History of Wothersome, in Leeds and West Riding | Map and description (visionofbritain.org.uk)

We’re recommending these locks for homeowners who often forget their keys inside or lose them. It’s a keyless system where you just need to remember the password and you can unlock the door easily. As easy as it sounds, it’s not a safe choice. An intruder can easily observe the combination of digits that you input into the electronic lock system.

Try Fingerprint Sensors

The safest, smartest, and fastest way to unlock the door is by using fingerprint sensors. These keyless locks are designed to read your unique fingerprints to unlock the door. You can set up multiple fingerprints so that your family doesn’t have to wait for you to unlock the door.

It’s much better and safer than carrying multiple keys and distributing them to your family and neighbors. The lock system is also hack-proof. Some fingerprint lock systems come with a passcode that you can use in case your fingerprints do not match. Some of these locks also work remotely.

Mobile Locksmiths | B & S Locksmiths | Huddersfield (bandslocksmiths.co.uk)

Give Extra Keys to Your Neighbors

Give spare keys to your neighbors, friends, or someone you can trust. This will allow you to get inside safely in case you get locked out of your house. That’s a low-tech way of avoiding the lockout situation.

Install Deadbolt

A lockout can be a nightmare for those who have left their kids inside the house. If that happens frequently, consider switching to a deadbolt. Since not every door is compatible with smart locks and fingerprints, a deadbolt comes in handy when you need to shut the door. It allows you to lock the door on the outside too. So, there’s never a risk of getting locked out. You will need the keys to lock it.

Save the Locksmith’s Number on Your Mobile

People don’t pay attention to their lock mechanism or keys until they experience a lockout. Unfortunately, there’s no foolproof way to avoid a lockout. You might have a habit of carrying your keys, but there’s a risk you will forget them when you are in a rush. It’s best to save the number of a locksmith for such scenarios.

Not just for lockouts, but a locksmith can help you change or upgrade your apartment’s lock system or rekey your house when required. A locksmith also comes to your rescue when you are locked out of a car and there’s no way to get inside without professional help.

Emergency locksmith Wothersome can arrive at your location within minutes and unlock your doors safely. The biggest benefit of hiring a locksmith in such emergency situations is that they will unlock your home without damaging your property.

Maintain Old Locks

Getting locked out of a house is not always the case of a lack of attention. Sometimes, your lock stops working because of rust or wear. Have you ever faced a situation where you kept trying to turn the lock, but it wouldn’t work? Well, that’s probably because of the old lock that’s not maintained. The rust can make it stiff. You can spray a dry lube on the keyhole and try to twist the key a couple of times to make it work. Alternatively, you can replace the lock with a new model.

What To Do if You are Locked Out of Your House?

Imagine you have returned home from work late at night and checked your purse, pockets, and everywhere to find the keys. You realize you forgot to grab your keys when stepping out the door. Now, your door is locked and there’s no way to get inside. What can you do?

Ask for Help

Call your friends, family, or neighbors to check if they have spare keys to your home. Usually, people hand spare sets to their neighbors for such emergencies. If you are living in a rented property, reach out to your landlord to know if they have keys to your house. Most landlords have copies of the keys to your apartment.

Check for Open Windows or Doors

Open doors or windows are a clear invitation to an intruder. Since these are the entry points for these people to find their way into your home, you must check all entrance gates to your house before leaving.

However, the open door or a window can come to your rescue if you get locked out of your apartment. It doesn’t hurt to check if you have left any windows or back doors unlocked. For getting in through an open window, take a quick scan of the room to see if there are any furniture, glass, or metal objects. Lift the window and land gently.

Use Bobby Pins

We all have seen this trick in movies. It seems pretty easy, but it can be extremely challenging to execute. You need bobby pins for this. One will hold the lock in place, while the other is used to unlatch the pin to unlock the door.

Remove the Door Knob

Door knobs are designed differently. Some door knobs can be taken apart using a few basic mechanic tools, like hammers, screwdrivers, and paper clips. Of course, you won’t be carrying those, so it’s best to call your neighbor to help you disassemble the doorknob.

It’s simple. You need to remove all the screws holding the door knob in place using a screwdriver. Then, with the help of the paperclip, loose the hinge screws, and there you go! Just make sure you put the lock back together to prevent any security issues.

Break In

This is not recommended unless it’s an emergency. For instance, if your kids are alone at home or there is an oven on, you might want to take desperate measures to get inside. Now, this might be very dramatic. If there are people around, try to get inside through the back door or a window where you’ll be less noticeable.

You just need to kick the door near the door knob to break open the door. You can also get in through the windows. Glass windows can be broken with a hard rock or any sturdy object, however, we won’t advise that because of the risk involved. Unless you have tried all ways to get inside but nothing worked, get in through the windows.

It might seem easy to climb through the window, but it carries significant risk. You might injure yourself or hurt the people inside in an attempt to get inside through the glass windows.

Contact a Locksmith

The safest way to get back inside is by calling a locksmith. Earlier we mentioned you should have the number of emergency locksmith Wothersome saved on your mobile so that if you ever get stuck in such situations, you can seek professional help easily. Whether you are stuck outside a  locked house or a locked vehicle, a locksmith can assist you in getting back in.

They carry a set of tools to unlock the door with a duplicate key or other objects. You may have seen people use bobby pins or other thin objects to unlock the locked keys. Locksmiths have similar tools, but they are more effective and can do the job without causing any damage to the property or the people inside.

A locksmith will also guide you to replace your locks, rekey your house, and give maintenance tips on how you can keep your lock in good condition.

Should I Call the Police?

A common question people ask when it comes to lockout situations is can I contact the police for help? Sadly, such emergencies occur when you need to get in urgently. For instance, your child needs to use the restroom urgently or there’s a heavy rainfall outside. Your first instinct in such a situation would be to call 911. That seems pretty obvious, as it’s the only number that everyone remembers.

However, that’s not a good idea. You shouldn’t call the police or the fire department unless there’s a fire or an emergency. Besides, the fire department or police do not specialize in unlocking the door. They will most likely break the door or the doorknob to get inside quickly. You will probably have to pay a lot in repairing the lock system or replacing it altogether.

It’s better to stick to the locksmith, as they specialize in lockouts, rekeying, and other lock-related stuff. You may have built a connection with a local locksmith at the time of moving into your new home.

Usually, people hire locksmiths when they need to rekey their houses to prevent people with spare keys from entering the properties when there’s no one around. Likewise, you may know a locksmith who changed your door locks or upgraded them. If you know someone from nearby, call them right away. If not, then locksmith Wothersome is always available for your assistance.

Bottom Line

Nothing sounds more frustrating than getting locked out of the house. And this happens at the most inappropriate times, i.e. either at midnight when you can’t wake anyone or when the weather outside looks bad. Investing in a smart door lock is the best possible way to avoid lockouts.

Since these door locks operate remotely or with your fingerprints, PIN, and other methods, they are less likely to cause any trouble. Besides, you never need to carry keys when you have smart locks in place. These keyless door locks need your smartphone to lock and unlock. The same works for your car. If you tend to lose your car keys often, invest in digital car keys.