What Should I Do If I'm Locked Out?
If it hasn’t happened to you yet, it probably will at some stage of your life. That sinking feeling, the horrible realisation that you are locked out and haven’t got your keys. It’s often not even that you have forgotten to take your keys out, it might be that a family member has gone out unexpectedly so you didn’t think you’d need a key, you’ve just dropped your partner in town and they have the key, or you have lost the key and don’t know where. Whatever the reason, the key, if you’ll pardon the pun, is not to panic.
The severity of this problem really depends on a number of factors; the weather, the time of day and who you live with. Each of these can influence the urgency of the issue and how difficult it is likely to be to resolve. But let’s assume it’s a rainy day and it’s 2 o’clock in the morning, so you need to take pretty immediate action. Here are a few tips on what you can do, and rest assured, however successful you are in gaining access to your home, this will be a thorough review of your current security arrangements and you might learn a thing or two at the same time about security measures you can improve.
Check doors and windows
If you were absent-minded enough to get yourself locked out, you might have also forgotten to close some windows or lock your back door. Have a good check of the perimeter of the property before taking any drastic action. If anything is unlocked and accessible then you should be able to get in, but be mindful that you might trigger an intruder alarm just as you would if you entered the front door normally, so be aware that you might need to run along and switch off the alarm from where you gain access.
Spare Key?
Who has a spare key for the property? Many people leave a spare key with a neighbour or a relative living nearby. Bear in mind it may also be an inconvenient time of day or night, so the spare key option may not be open to you. You may even leave a spare key under a pot or a doormat near the front door, which is a quite significant security risk, but might just save you in this instance.
Locksmith
It is never advisable to break into your own home, or to attempt to dismantle a lock to try and circumnavigate its mechanism and gain entry. This can cause expensive damage to doors and/or windows and it can injure yourself. And while this might be handy in highlighting weaknesses in your security, it is much more advisable to call out a locksmith to attend to your locks and gain you access to your property. Locksmiths can be expensive, but are the safest bet, particularly because they are professionals who can deal with these matters without causing costly damage. They are also available on a 24/7 basis so whatever time of day or night you have been locked out, they will always be an option. A professional locksmith will also be able to advise on measures to prevent this happening again.
Control measures to prevent being locked out
Here are a few tips to consider to prevent a repeat of you being locked out, or to prevent it happening in the first place:
- Habits: it is easy to say, but getting in the habit of not forgetting your keys is the best way to solve this issue. So keeping keys by the front door or with your coat or your car keys, will hopefully prevent this happening again, although any system that is reliant on human behaviour is never going to be 100% reliable.
- More spare keys: if you have more spare keys cut then everyone in the household will have one and there’s more chance of locating someone who can help you out. The flipside to this is that more keys also equals more that can become lost, which opens up a security risk.
- Keep a spare key in a secure place: you can install a lockable hatch near the front door which always has a spare key in it and is only accessible via a unique code which only you know. These are relatively inexpensive to buy and easy to install.
- Smart locks: fitting a smart lock which doesn’t require a separate key could be the ideal solution and will prevent you ever needing a key again. These kind of locks can be set up with a unique code or number combination, or you can use biometric systems whereby the lock is only opened via your fingerprint or via face or eye recognition. You can also use smartphone apps to open locks, but this also requires you not to ever lose your phone. However, the best solution is to have keyless locks using a system which suits you and which will provide 100% reliable security.