Signs That Show You It Is Time To Have Your Old Locks Replaced
The sole purpose of having a lock on your doors is to prevent people from entering when you do not want them to. As locks age, they can become damaged and show signs of needing to be replaced. Learn what those signs are so you will never have to worry about your lock failing you or your security needs.
It Is Getting Rusty
You do not want to make the mistake of assuming that the formation of rust on a lock is something that is normal and therefore should not be worried about. The fact is, rust indicates that an abundant amount of water has made it onto the lock. It could have very well made it into the lock where you actually stick the key. Once you see that rust has begun to form on your door locks, you will want to have them replaced. It might be a good idea to have a contractor like Hicks Safes & Locks Inc. do this for you, especially if your locks are very old. Adaptions to your door may need to be made in order to ensure that the new lock will fit properly. Also, it might also be time to evaluate how all of the water got onto the lock in the first place. If you do not have a screen door that would shield the lock from rain, it might be time to have one of those installed too. This way, your new lock will not become rusty.
The Key Get Stuck
Have you found that when you put the key in the lock that you have to wiggle and pull hard in order to get it back out? If so, then you need to immediately replace your lock. The last thing you want is for your key to get stuck one final time and it suddenly snap in half while you try to remove it. If that happens, you are not going to be able to open that door so hopefully you would have another way into the building. The time thing to do is to avoid that situation altogether by replacing your lock the moment you notice that your key is beginning to stick.
When you do find that you have a lock that needs to be replaced, you might want to consider replacing all of the locks on the rest of the exterior doors. This way, they are all upgraded at the same time, which will help reduce the likelihood that you will run into more trouble with locks in the near future.