When your locks are starting to give you problems there may be a lot of reasons why this is the case. You might already know that an attempted break-in can damage your locks and cause problems. However, one of the most surprising reasons why people have trouble with their locks is because of the weather or temperature outdoors. When the weather changes the locks might begin to compress, causing you all sorts of problems. 

Here is what might happen during the different times of the year to affect your locks.

Spring/Summer Months (Hot & Warm Temperatures)

Locks becoming jammed are the biggest problem that you might experience during the summer months. The lock may only turn in one way and not turn in the other direction. This is a problem that we generally find with exterior doors. The hotter the temperatures the more the door will start to widen.

When you have this problem, you probably have a deadbolt lock on the same door that is having trouble opening. This can be a problem within itself because the door’s lock will begin to become compromised. If you have a wooden door then you are a more likely to experience this problem than someone with a steel or fiberglass door. Wood is the very material than will begin to contract the fastest and the easiest when the temperatures are higher. 

Fall/Winter Months (Cool & Cold Temperatures)

Our locksmiths at Atlanta Magic Locksmith, LLC we have more requests for lock related issues at this time than any other time of the year, during the winter. The lock problems start to happen when the temperatures are below freezing. In this case the door starts to do the very opposite thing than when it is hotter outside, it expands. This doesn’t just create problems with the door but also with the lock.

Your key may not run you are trying to unlock or lock it. You may think that the problem that you are experiencing is due to the key but you are starting to realize that it is actually the lock. To get the lock to work what you might need to do is pull the door toward you to try to re-align the lock with the door frame. This is just a temporary fix and not a solution to the problem. You will eventually need to address the underlying issue because if you don’t the problem will undoubtedly become even worse than it is already. You may not be able to lock or unlock the door at all.

Your Car Door Locks During the Winter

This is the one problem that motorists just can’t stand to happen to them, the car door freezing in the winter. The door may become completely frozen and the moisture that has built up in the lock makes it hard to open the door. The key and your key remote won’t make it budget. We understand that what we are about to suggest may sound strange but trust us, it works. Take a hair dryer and try to heat the lock to see if it doesn’t help you unlock the car door.

If you have a newer model vehicle, we suggest that you start the engine so that you can heat up the car and unfreeze the locks. Now if you aren’t able to open even one of your car doors then this would be impossible to do so using the dryer might be the best option. If none of these things are working for you and you need to get back inside your vehicle, you can always give us a call and one of our locksmiths will be happy to assist you with the problem.

Preventative Measures

If you have never experienced a problem with your locks swelling to the extent that it will not enable you to open your doors then you will never be able to really imagine the level of frustration that this will cause. If you don’t want to risk this problem happening to you then there are some steps that you can take to prevent it. First, make sure that you choose the right locksmith to help if you choose to leave it in the hands of an expert. Look for a reputable and reliable locksmith who will take every service call seriously, including your frozen lock service call. Also, making sure that your locks are properly installed can help you avoid these problems that often occur when the temperature shifts Since we know that many people prefer the look of wooden doors, there tend to be a lot of people who experience these issues with their wooden door.

If this happens to you a lot then it might be in your best interest to have a new door installed. The problems that we mentioned occur less frequently with steel and fiberglass doors. Manufacturers today are starting to make these types of doors more attractive, which means that you can get a door that is just as attractive as the wooden garage door. You have plenty of options for your door.

Lubricating the locks will also help you prevent this problem from happening. This is the case even when the temperatures begin to fluctuate. Using the correct lubricate and making sure that your lock is properly disassembled and lubricated is essential to getting the results that you want and need.