It’s happened to the best of us. Life gets busy, time runs short, and you find yourself scrambling out of the house without thinking twice about whether or not you have your keys. The realization usually occurs the moment the door closes, but in often cases, it’s a moment too late. Adding to your stresses for the day is now a need to call a locksmith so that you can regain entry, and although the Rapid team is ready and waiting to help, you’ll want to try and avoid this situation as often as possible.
After years spent helping customers regain entry to their homes, we’ve learned a few tips and tricks about preventing lockout scenarios. Here are five of the best items to consider when it comes to never getting locked out of your house again.
Change Your Locks to Smart Locks
Smart phones, smart watches, smart toasters. It seems like nowadays everything has been made smart, and along the way has been made easier for us to use. For years now, technology-imbedded locks have been available, and the real value is now starting to be seen. Smart locks prevent you from needing to keep a key at all times, with many of them offering alternative access methods. These include touchpads, fingerprint or eye scanners, and more. Although more expensive than traditional lock systems, smart locks will create a level of convenience you have yet to experience, and will ensure that lockouts from the home are an item of the past.
Keeping a Spare Key in the Car
Most people receive two sets of keys when they move into a home. The first is kept with them at all times, and the other is kept in the home. But what use is a spare key inside the home when you and your family are locked out of it? Keeping a spare key in your car, even if it requires having an additional one cut, will ensure that there is always an external access tool available.
Give Spare Keys to Family, Friends, or Neighbours
If you don’t have a car, or don’t love the idea of keeping a house key inside of it, the goal should still be to have a spare key that lives out of your home. A few alternative options involve giving the spare to a trusted family, friend, or neighbour. This will allow you to go about your day worry free, knowing that if a lockout emergency ever arises, you’ll be well prepared to make a call and quickly regain access. As an added benefit, the trusted member you give the spare key to will also be able to stop in and ensure all is well at home (with permission, of course) when you’re away on vacation or business.
Hide a Key in a Lockbox Near Your Home
If giving a key to another human being is not ideal, there is always the option of setting aside an external key for you to access. Most people will simply hide the key outside of their home, however, this can lead to compromises in security and break-ins. A way to avoid these downsides, while still giving yourself the ability to keep a key accessible at all times, is to install a lockbox near your home that only you have access to. A lockbox is a small safe that uses a combination keypad to gain entry, giving you the ability to access it without a key whenever you’re in need of one. You can even go one step further and hide the lockbox, ensuring that no one is aware of its existence.
Install a Keyless Door Knob Entry
In almost all home lockout situations, the cause is an accidentally locked doorknob and an individual that didn’t manage to bring keys out of the home. One of the easiest solutions to this problem is to completely take away the ability for an accidental door knob locking to occur. By installing a keyless door knob, the only way to lock the house door is by using a key in the deadbolt, meaning that you must have your keys on you in order to lock the house. As simple as it may seem, the installation of a keyless door knob will prevent virtually all cases of lockout.
If you’re looking to change your lock setup in order to prevent future lockout situations, or are in need of re-entry assistance, our expert locksmith team is ready to help. Contact Rapid today and ensure you aren’t left out in the cold!
