What To Do If You Get Locked Out

By Author: Kathy Breneman
Total Articles: 28
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Even the most switched on of us sometimes leave our keys at work or shut them in the house. For those of us with automatically locking doors, actually locking our keys in the house is also a common occurrence. In these situations it's easy to panic and break a window, or to write off the whole day as wasted, but if you keep a cool head and consider your options then there are certainly safer and quicker ways to deal with the problem.

If you should get locked out of your home then the first thing to try and contact people who may have a spare key - other residents of the house, friends, partners or family. You should try to get a locksmith to get them each a copy if possible. Of course there's a chance you won't have done this, or your support network will be busy or unavailable. In this instance you may opt to stay somewhere else for the night or to visit a friend or the pub until the person you need becomes available (make sure you don't wait outside in the cold. In an emergency however you may not have time to wait, and in these cases you need to start thinking more outside the box.

One solution here is to call ...
... your landlord if you rent. Most landlords have an ‘emergency' number you can call (which can usually be found online) and will send someone out to deal with your problem. Of course they normally charge for this service so you should only do so if you've exhausted all other options. If you are a homeowner however then the chances are that no one else will own a copy of your key and you might want to consider ways of breaking in

Firstly check to see if you've left any windows open (if you forgot to take your keys then there's a fair chance you might have forgotten to close the windows). If you have and they're low enough and wide enough to enter safely then you can climb in and unlock your home from the inside. Remember that though some windows may look shut, unless you've locked them or fastened them down many can be opened with a push. Of course it's not advisable to leave your window open as it will leave you vulnerable to theft.

If you can't find anything like this you may be able to pick the lock. This is a difficult skill and really requires a locksmith, but if your door utilizes a very simple locking mechanism and you happen to have a lock pick set (or any two long thin pieces of metal) then you can manually push in the pins and turn the mechanism.

Obviously if you cannot pick the lock yourself then you can always call out a locksmith to do the task for you. They will let you in quickly and efficiently without damaging the lock for only a small fee (and you won't get the condescending reminder to 'be careful in future' that you would from friends or a landlord). Failing this, if it's after working hours, you may have to break a window to climb in. This should be the last resort solution however as it is both a dangerous and expensive method.

Author is a locksmith and runs locksmith san jose and locksmith gilroy.