When Should You Change Your House Locks?
The Top Eight Reasons You Should Change Your House Locks In 2022
Your home is the place you should feel the highest level of security for yourself, your family members, and your belongings. Understandably, when a lock is faulty or your home security system isn’t working properly, you’ll feel a sense of vulnerability and discomfort. Strong locking mechanisms on all of your exterior doors and entry points is a crucial component of confidently leaving your home or relaxing inside of it.
Although, locks can’t be expected to last forever, and it will become necessary from time to time for you to change your house’s locks. To ensure your own safety, you should be fully aware of the circumstances that warrant this preventative action. Here are the top eight reasons you should change your house locks.
Moving Into a New Home
Moving into a new home is a very exciting time. In the midst of everything you need to accomplish, the keys to your new home can feel very new to you, and it can be very easy to overlook changing the locks.
However, you never truly know if a previous homeowner has extra copies of the same keys or whether they gave copies to friends, family, or even neighbours you’ve yet to meet. As an extra level of security for yourself and your family, it is always best practice to replace your locks.
After a Break-In
After a break-in or even an attempted break-in, it is time to change your locks. The burglars may have gained entry due to having access to your residential locks or may have even stumbled across a spare key of yours and taken it with them to make copies.
They also likely caused damage to your existing locks while gaining entry to your home. Although it might not look like any damage has been done with the naked eye, there are mechanisms within your lock that could malfunction and cause lockouts if tampered with. Don’t waste any time having your home fit with new locks.
After Losing Your Keys
Keys are lost on a daily basis; it’s an unfortunate part of life. This is often the motivation behind creating spare keys as a preventative measure, however, once you’ve lost any copy of keys, you can never be too certain if someone has found them and will use them to access your home. To stay as safe as possible, change your locks any time this happens to you.
Further, if someone steals your keys, you most certainly need to change your locks immediately. Contact Fensome Locksmiths at any time of the day if you’re the victim of key theft in Northampton and we will equip your home with new locks promptly.
Someone Moves Out
There are many instances when someone might move out of your home. Perhaps you own a property and had a tenant or roommate leave, or you’re facing a divorce. Just as with previous owners, you never know if this individual made copies of your current key and handed them out to others. No matter the case, changing your locks after anyone moves out of your home is a great idea and will leave you confident in your security at all times of the day.
Your Locking Mechanisms Are Old or Malfunctioning
Unfortunately, locking mechanisms don’t last a lifetime. They rust and tarnish or simply malfunction after years of use. If your locks are old or if you’re experiencing any difficulties operating them, you’re risking an inconvenient lockout. Additionally, burglars will have a much easier time breaking into your home when you have an older, worn down lock. It’s time to change your locks in this case.
You Gave Your Spare Key to Someone You No Longer Trust
Perhaps you’ve given a spare key to a service provider or a friend who is no longer so friendly. Even if they return your key, you’ll never know for sure that there aren’t extra copies that have been made. The only people that should have a copy of your key are individuals you wholeheartedly trust at this moment in time. Changing your locks is a smart move if there is any chance a copy of your key is circulating.
You Want to Simplify Your Life (One Key Access)
Of course, you might just be interested in simplifying your life, especially if you have a different locking mechanism on every entry point of your home. Instead of wasting time searching for the correct key on your keyring when returning home in the dark, having one key that unlocks all of your locks will make your life much easier and your keyring lighter.
You Want to Feel More Secure In Your Home
If there is ever any reason that leads you to question the integrity of your home’s locks and overall security, it is a brilliant idea to go ahead and change your locks. This decision will allow you to feel more at ease when travelling or even relaxing on your couch. The security of your home, your family, and yourself is worth investing in if you have any unease whatsoever.
Conclusion
Your home’s locks are just as important as the foundation of the home itself. There is incredible value in your home, from the memories and belongings it houses to the lives residing inside of it. Your security is something you simply cannot take a risk with. If you’ve experienced any of these eight occurrences or simply have a gut feeling that your home’s safety has been jeopardised, it’s time for new locks.
If you’re residing in the Northampton area and need any assistance with your locks, don’t hesitate to contact Fensome Locksmiths. Feel free to ring us on 01604 661 872 at any hour of the day, email us at info@fensomelocksmiths.co.uk, or fill out our enquiry form. With our 24-hour call out and 30-minute local response time, your safety is our top priority.