What to Do When You’re Locked out of the House?
Locksmith Soutampton
Everyone’s been there at some stage in their life. You’ve got home – usually late at night – looking forward to relaxing with your feet up and a bottle of wine, only to realize that you’ve got no way of getting back into your house. Most locks can be locked from the inside, without the need for a key. This is handy in many ways. But it also makes it very easy to lock the door on your way out without thinking twice, when you don’t actually have your keys with you.
Depending on your living arrangement, the situation isn’t always that big a deal; likely there’s someone already home or arriving back shortly. Unfortunately, there are a huge number of people that live alone and don’t have the privilege of relying on housemates or family members. And if you haven’t given a spare set to a friend, what are you supposed to do to get back into your house?
Well, the obvious answer is to call up a locksmith, but you might want to try and sort the problem out for yourself first.
You don’t want to have to pay a professional if you could have simply got inside through an open window, for instance. Scout the perimeter of your house and make sure all the doors and accessible windows are in fact locked. Check under the mats and any other places where you might have hidden keys over the years, just in the off-chance that you might have left a spare.
If none of these methods yield results, it might be worth trying your hand in lock-picking. It might sound far-fetched, but we do hear of people getting lucky with an older lock or door model and actually managing to break into their own house. After which they call someone to replace these locks; if they can break in, they probably feel as if anyone can! Remember that you need a tension rod as well as a pick (most likely a Bobby pin) to successfully pick a lock. You can also try using a knife/crowbar to pry open a window or using a credit card if you don’t have dead bolts.
If this fails, it’s time to weigh up your options. There are a few things you can do to try and bust back into your home, each with varying levels of effectiveness and risk. The problem is that some of the most desperate measures can wind up costing you in repairs and might require you to get a locksmith anyway (i.e. if you break your locks). Breaking a small window is also an option.
For home owners with up-to-date security measures in place, breaking into your home probably isn’t the best idea. In this case, call up a locksmith. There’s plenty that works around the clock, just be sure to ask for identification and make sure they’re legit. A qualified locksmith will always ask for I.D. himself to ensure you’re actually the home owner.
As you’ve probably worked out from this article, locking yourself out is not ideal. So try to make sure you leave a spare key with a friend that lives close by.
Morale: Ring www.locksmithssouthampton.org.uk and you will be enjoying that glass of wine in no time and at very little cost
