Locks in your home are essential for protecting your family and your belongings against intruders and giving you peace of mind. But if you lose your house key, your locks can also effectively keep you out of your home, in addition to a lost key potentially being a cause for concern if someone else is able to find and use it.
When someone in your family loses a house key, these steps outline the process you can use to help you get back into your home safely, reduce the chance of a security risk, and prevent a similar lockout from happening again in the future.
Steps to Follow for a Home Lockout in Dallas
The first step if you lose your key and are locked outside is to get back into your home safely. If you have a family member or a friend who has a duplicate key, they can bring it over. You may also be able to get in through an unsecured window. You should never break a window, however, as the repair costs will far exceed the cost of a locksmith. If you have no other way in, call a Dallas locksmith for lockout services.
Once you are inside, you have several options for what action to take next depending on any concerns you have about the lost key. Options include:
- Replacing Locks – If the lock was damaged when the locksmith got through the door, the lock will need to be replaced all together. You will also get a new key to prevent any risk if someone finds the old key.
- Rekey Your Locks – Rekeying is a more affordable alternative that involves changing the pin arrangement in the existing lock and providing you with a new key to match. The lock will no longer work with the old keys.For this to work, the lock must be undamaged.
- Key Cutting – If you are certain that no one will be able to find the old keys and follow you home, a locksmith can simply cut new keys that match the existing locks.
There are also some steps you can take to help decrease the chance that a lost key will keep you out of your home in the future, such as installing a key padlock that has you enter a code rather than use a key to gain access to your home. This also makes it easier to control who can get in. Leaving a spare key with a friend or hidden in a lock box can also prevent future lockouts. If you tend to lose your keys often, you may want to consider a Bluetooth key finder to help you locate them.
Whether you need emergency lockout services or want to rekey or replace locks after you have lost your house keys, you will need a Dallas locksmith that you can trust. 911 Locksmith and Security provides all the residential locksmith services you may need for a home lockout, rekey, or lock installation. Contact us today for fast and friendly residential Dallas locksmith services.
Ooh, nice! I didn’t even realize that we could simply reset the pin configuration inside our lock and get anew set of keys if we want to save some money. My sister has been figuring out how to keep her apartment door lock intact from any intruder. I’ll ask her to look further into this matter when she hires someone to resolve the problem soon.
Thank you for explaining about replacing locks. I’ve been thinking it might be time for us to do this for our home. I’ll be sure to talk to a locksmith so they can help us with this.
Oh, wow! The fact that no one has ever told me before about key cutting and how we could opt for it once we’re sure our lost key won’t be found by someone else was really astonishing. My workmate has been spending hours trying to find her apartment key throughout our office to no avail. I guess it’s about time she considers this kind of alternative when she seeks some help from an expert to resolve such a problem soon.
Hmm… maybe you were right – we could easily avoid unnecessary lockouts by creating duplicate keys for starters. I’m sure my neighbor would always remember this advice when he calls a locksmith soon after. He lost his house key (again) just now and he doesn’t know what else to do at the moment.
Thank you for mentioning that rekeying, which involves changing the pin arrangement in the current lock and providing you with a new key to match, is a less expensive alternative. My brother was partying so hard last night that he could have forgotten the key to his apartment somewhere at the bar or in the cab he used to go home. Nevertheless, he was unable to enter, so he was forced to stay in my house. When he awakens, I’ll let him know about this post so we may send a mobile locksmith to his house to rekey his door, if that’s a viable option.