7 Signs It’s Time to Replace Your Door Locks
Most homeowners—whether they’ve just bought their first house or have been living in their home for decades—don’t consider changing their locks. However, there are many reasons why it might be a sound idea to do so. Though locks do tend to have a long lifespan, like everything else in life, they do deteriorate and require changing now and again.
Here are some signs it might be time to replace your door locks.
1. Your Locks Have Deteriorated
Even if you installed the best locks on the market, made from the most durable materials, they are bound to deteriorate with time. Fortunately, locks aren’t likely to suddenly stop working due to deterioration. Rather, they’ll slowly age. If you need to forcefully jiggle the handle to get the lock to open, it’s a sign of deterioration.
If your locks aren’t working as good as they used to, it’s best to replace them now before they become jammed or break, causing an emergency situation.
2. You’ve Purchased a New Home
Purchasing a new home is an exciting time. While you might be thinking a mile a minute about décor and the renovations you’d like to make in the near future, you should take a moment to replace the locks. Even if the locks are in great shape, you simply don’t know who in the world has a key to them and what they might do with it. The old owners may still have a key, and they may have given duplicates to children, friends, or neighbours. To keep your home and valuables safe, it’s best to call in a locksmith the moment you move in.
3. You Let Go or Changed Personal Help
Many homeowners give away spare keys to babysitters, nannies, dog sitters, housekeepers, and gardeners. It allows for greater convenience when you’re not home to let them inside.
However, these professional relationships don’t always last forever. They may move on to other jobs or you may not require their help anymore. Even if you got your spare key back once you parted ways, you never know whether or not they duplicated the key for nefarious reasons. That’s why it’s best to replace your locks as a precaution. This is especially true if you parted ways on bad terms, suspected them on stealing from the home, or you never received the spare key you gave them.
4. Your Roommate Moved Out
Similarly to the last point, it’s a good idea to replace your door locks if a previous tenant or roommate has moved out. While you may have gotten back their key, you can never be sure if they duplicated it or gave away spares to other people. It’s better to be safe than sorry, after all.
5. You Lost Your Keys
It happens to the best of us. Sometimes, keys just go missing. You shouldn’t take the chance that they’ll turn up, however, even if you have a spare to use. Missing keys could be a security risk, particularly if they were on a keychain that had any personal information on it, such as your address, name, or phone number. Call a locksmith immediately.
6. Your Locks Are Damaged
Of course, if you cannot lock or unlock the door, it’s time for a replacement. However, you also have the option of rekeying, which can help fix chamber or cylinder issues. Once the rekeying process has been completed, the lock will only work with new keys, which has the same effect as replacing your locks entirely.
7. You’re Looking to Upgrade
The locks you’ve had on your doors for years now may not be the best on the market. You might want to upgrade to biometric or electronic locks. You may also want to consider more security-focused locks, such as those that take a photo when the door is open.