Things To Try When You're Locked Out

Posted on: 14 March 2017

If you come home from work tired and frazzled only to discover you locked your keys in the car before you could get inside your house, you have a frustrating situation on your hands. You may have spare keys in your house, but when you're locked out of both places, you're really out of luck. The quick and easy solution is to call an emergency locksmith, but if you're like a lot of people, you want to solve the problem yourself if you can. Here are some things to try before you call a pro for help.

Work With What You Have

Take stock of the tools you can get your hands on. Do you have a rewards card or some other type of thin flexible plastic card in your wallet or purse? Can you get inside the garage or a tool shed to look for a screwdriver or other tool you can use as a lock pick? If the locks to your house are old, you may be able to break in using the credit card swipe trick or by picking the lock. Jiggle the knob as you poke at the keyhole and you might get lucky and move the pins enough to open the lock. It is easier to break into a home lock than a car lock when you don't have proper tools. Choose the oldest and weakest lock, which might be on a side door to the garage or a back door.

Check The Windows Too

Check all the windows in your home to make sure one isn't unlocked. If the windows are locked, there isn't much you can do to get inside except break out the glass. You don't want to do that because replacing the glass would cost more than calling a locksmith. If there is a minor emergency, you may want to break glass to get inside, but it is still worth a call to a mobile locksmith because help may arrive on the scene in just a few minutes. If you have a small decorative window in the door, you may be able to displace it with a screwdriver. If you can't find a screwdriver in your shed, see if you can borrow one from a neighbor. Once you pry the window loose, you can reach inside and try to open the lock by hand.

If you don't have access to any tools at all, or if your home security is top notch and you can't break in, then give a locksmith like Quick Lockworks a call. It doesn't cost much to pop a lock on a car and it can be done in just a couple of minutes so you can retrieve your house keys. Once the drama has passed, it's a good time to come up with a plan so you can avoid a repeat of the excitement. Leave a spare key with someone you trust or change your house locks to the digital variety so you won't have to worry about being locked out again.

Share