9 Steps To Take If You Get Locked Out Of Your House
You checked your pocket, bag, and even your car but you don’t have your key on you which means you are locked out of your house!
26/05/2020
It probably happened to all of us at some point of our lives. You’re walking to your front door thinking about sitting down on your couch, preparing dinner and planning on doing lots of things inside but then you suddenly get the feeling of panic. Voila! You checked your pocket, bag, and even your car but you don’t have your key on you.
So it finally sank in that you're locked out, just standing outside frozen and thinking about what to do next. And even though there's a lot of things that you can do, some of which are very obvious, you might overlook them when you're anxious. Let’s take a look at some of them.
1. Try Your Other Door
So you locked yourself out from your front door, but if you have a back door or garage door you can try your luck and check if you can get through another point of entry. Another choice is if your back door has a dog door for access to your pets you can squeeze through in there. Just be careful because if you panic while getting in you might get stuck. Think of where it is more likely that you will leave an open door. This is the first thing that you need to do, checking all the other entrances of your house.
2. Call a Locksmith
Chase, a locksmith Gold Coast, says that whenever people call locksmiths for help, the first thing they do is panic, and locksmiths know how to deal with this reaction. Although not necessarily the cheapest option, locksmiths are still the easiest and definite way you can get back inside your house very quickly. A good locksmith can open your door within a minute. They have all of the technology regarding keys and doors even if it’s a conventional door up to the modern ones. Locksmith service fee varies depending on your situation, location and also door type. However, they are available all the time and can come to you right away.
3. Try If There Are Open Windows
You can try to check if you left an open window by chance, ground floor windows are the safest and easiest but they are probably going to be locked. If you can get a hold of the ladder, you might have better chances on your second-floor window as they are more likely to be open. You have to be very careful when entering through the window, so remove the screen or lift the window and shimmy inside and be on the lookout for potential landing hazards such as tables, furniture or television.
4. Look For A Spare Key
Most people have spare keys around their home for situations just like these. If you have a spare key that you hide you should get it right away. Although it’s very dangerous to leave keys in common places, some people still do it. You can try to search for the spare key under the rug, flower vases or mailboxes. As mentioned, you shouldn’t put it in obvious places, so next time you can consider hiding them in fake rock storage or any other smarter alternative.
5. Check with Your Landlord or Other Possible Key Holders
If you are renting your house and you have a landlord, you can try checking with them because it’s very common for them to keep a spare key for these instances. This option might cost you a certain fee if the landlord doesn’t want to give you the spare key for free, but it is still more convenient than just screaming for help. Or if you live in a condominium unit, usually the concierge keeps a spare key, so you just need to have proof of residency or show your valid identification card. If you've given a key to your friend, your family, or even your neighbor, although it may be inconvenient for them — now's the time to ask for it.
6. Try Using a Credit Card
Using the credit card method to open your door just works on selected types of doors and not on modern and more secured door locks. Nevertheless, you can still give it a try. Just insert the card between the door and the frame on the latch part and wiggle the card around. Opening the door with a credit card can cause damage to your card so you should avoid using important or still active cards, you can try library cards or even better are laminated cards since they can bend and be inserted more easily between the frame and the door.
7. Try Improvised Tools
If you have a spare hanger in your car or somewhere in your lawn or backyard you can try using it as a key alternative. Other alternatives are bobby pins and paper clips you probably keep in your bag. Be careful as these can snap inside your door lock and create a much bigger problem. Although movies portray that lock picking is easy, it’s much harder in real life.
8. Ask Neighbors for Help
Disregard being shy or feeling embarrassed since almost everyone experiences being locked and knows how frustrating it could be. They will most likely understand and offer you some help. You can borrow tools or screwdrivers to help open any entryway you choose. Always remember that two minds working together are better than one. A bonus benefit is that you will not be accused of breaking and entering by any passerby that happens to be around. But if you've been accused, one of your preferred criminal defense lawyers can be of great help.
9. Take off your doorknob
This should be your last resort as it is way harder and will also cost you a fortune. If you have tools in your garage such as hammers, screwdrivers, nails or even rocks, you can use them for taking off your doorknob. As long as you don’t have a deadbolt on your door, you should be able to get in by removing the doorknob.
Once the frustrating situation is over and you’re safe inside your home, you should take precautionary measures to ensure it won’t happen again or prepare for the next time you unavoidably find yourself in the same situation.