Your door locks are one of your home’s first lines of defense against potential intruders. Ensuring that they remain functional will allow you to keep your home, as well as yourself and your loved ones, well-protected. However, that security might fail if you neglect to perform some essential lock maintenance routines. In order to keep your home security in prime condition, check out these seven lock maintenance tips for your home.
7 Lock Maintenance Tips For Your Home
Your door locks probably work so well that the thought of doing lock maintenance might have never crossed your mind until now. Start maintaining your door locks with these seven helpful tips.
1. Check The Door’s Position
The first step in lock maintenance is to take time to examine how your door is positioned. Specifically, look out for gaps between the door and its frame, or see if the door is sagging. A properly aligned door will have no gaps around the frame. If the position of your door appears to be all right, move on to the next lock maintenance tip.
2. Inspect And Adjust Parts Of Your Lock And Door
Now it’s time to inspect your door and its lock. Start by checking the hinges and door track. If the hinges are loose, tighten your door hinges and realign your door to its tracks. Next, take a look at your door’s strike plate. Is the strike plate misaligned? Is your door’s deadbolt or deadlatch resting on the strike plate?
If either of these things is happening, realign the strike plate and ensure that your deadbolt or deadlatch is properly screwed into your door. Don’t forget to unlock, open, close, and lock it again to test its functionality. If there are unusual sounds, your door is leaving marks on the floor, or you have to move around your door to open it, it might be time to call a locksmith.
3. Clean Your Lock
After thoroughly inspecting your door, it’ll be time to turn your attention to the lock. Regularly cleaning your door lock will prevent any debris from interfering with the mechanisms, allowing it to last longer. These parts include the hinges, deadbolt or deadlatch, track, any weatherstripping, the strike plate, and the keyhole. Just use standard soap, water, and a rag. For tight spaces, you can use a toothbrush. You’ll also need to spray some pressurized air into the keyhole.
4. Lubricate Your Lock
After all the cleaning, it’s time to lubricate your lock. This lock maintenance task is usually performed on an annual basis unless otherwise specified by the manufacturer or a locksmith. As far as the type of lubricant, you can use graphite-based lubricant or Teflon-based lubricant.
Concerning how to lubricate your door lock, you’ll first need to spray the lubricant of your choice into the keyhole. Afterward, push and pull your key in the hole to see that it can easily move in and out of the lock. You can use WD-40 specialist lubricant on your door hinges for good measure. Do not mistake WD-40 specialist lubricant for regular WD-40, as the regular version will cause dirt and dust to get trapped in your lock, leading to greater problems in the future.
5. Care For Your Keys
One of the most simple lock maintenance tasks you can commit to year-round is taking care of your keys. This includes ensuring they are safe, keeping them from getting bent or scratched, and not just roughly shoving them in and out of your door’s keyhole. It’s also essential not to pull your keys when they’re inside the lock. Don’t forget to also upgrade your keys when necessary.
6. Mind The Knobs And Handles
Like your keys, your door’s knobs and handles also require year-round care. This care is also simple to maintain, as you mostly need to use these mechanisms carefully, not roughly. Avoid yanking or slamming them when opening or closing your door.
7. Know When To Call A Locksmith
Finally, one of the most important tips for lock maintenance is to know when it’s time to call a locksmith. While saving money by taking a DIY approach is tempting, you’re better off preventing further issues by reaching out to a professional. Luckily, if you live in Houston, Texas, all you need to do is contact us at Spider Locksmith to keep all your home’s door locks in excellent shape.