Has it ever happened to you that you try to turn your lock and it gets stuck? You try to force it a little, but it feels hard. This problem is more common than you think, we often ignore that these mechanisms require a little maintenance from time to time.
If you are having problems with your house locks, we want to offer you five tricks with which you could temporarily solve this problem and avoid a bad time, when you still do not want to call a locksmith in Las Vegas.
Tricks when the key doesn’t fit the lock
This usually happens when a change is made or in some cases when the copy of the key is new, it happens too when it is not well filed, the roughness often obstructs the passage.
If this is your case, the best thing to do is to take the key back to the place where it was copied and ask for a correction. If otherwise, your key was working perfectly and now it does not enter, check that there is not something stuck in the cylinder that is impeding its passage.
Sometimes it happens that they get dirty with dust or in the worst case scenario, someone has tried to get in and left something stuck. Whatever the case, you can try to remove the blockage with a pin or needle, but be careful not to push it further in.
In cold places it happens that locks often freeze, you can carefully warm up the lock to get rid of the ice and be able to use your keys.
Hard to turn the key
Some locks have combined mechanisms to open the door, this requires turning the key at the same time you turn the knob. Many times it happens that due to the wear and tear of time the system starts to lose strength. The recommendation we offer is to try different times until you find the right one.
If this is not your case and you have a simpler lock, the problem could be due to lack of lubrication. You can apply a little spray to lubricate the system.
The key turns, but the door does not open
If your key goes in normally, but when you turn the door it still won’t open, it is very likely that the internal system is damaged. In these cases it is best to contact a professional residential locksmith because you will most likely need to have a lock repair or replacement.
The key is stuck in the lock
If you used your wrench, but when you tried to pull it out it got stuck, you can try to pull it carefully without levering it out, exerting too much force can break or bend the wrench and we want to avoid further complications. You can help yourself with a pair of pliers to control the force and movements while trying to pull it out.
The door latch does not work
With daily use sometimes the latch stops working, this happens because the pins suffer many blows or pulls and this tends to slide the parts causing them to lose their alignment.
The first thing to do is to tighten the screws to try to get them back to their initial position. If this does not work, you can readjust the part that is fitted to the door frame, try to make it fit the new latch travel.
If none of the above options work, perhaps a little lubrication with a spray of graphite powder may be the solution, just lubricate the area.