When to Change Your Locks

Tampa Keypad

Changing locks should be routine when you take care of your home maintenance. Locks are essential for safety and security. The job of changing them should be important to anyone who has a family and valuables they stand to lose if someone breaks into your home. If you have ever wondered why you should ever have to change your locks, perhaps we can offer you some guidelines for doing so.

1. Lost or Stolen Keys

Since you can’t find your keys they may have been stolen or you may have possibility lost them. In either instance, you should definitely have your locks changed. Even in the event that someone finds and returns your keys, you can never be too sure as to whether or not the key was copied.

 

2. Moving

When you are moving into a new place whether it is a house or apartment, change the locks. This is something that is supposed to be handled before you move in, however, you can’t always trust that it was actually done. It is better to be safe than sorry. Change the locks!

 

3. If Keys Were Ever Left With Someone

If you ever have to leave your keys for a service professional or for a neighbor to let a service professional inside your home, change the locks afterwards. You do not know if the neighbor or someone close to the neighbor duplicated your key.

 

4. When Getting a Divorce

It doesn’t matter if your getting a divorce or separation, it is a good idea to change the locks on the doors to be on the safe side. Even if you ended the relationship on good terms, you can never be sure when animosity could rear its nasty head. Take it all in stride and get the locks changed. We are sure that you would be devastated to walk into your home and notice that everything has been stolen or moved out.

 

5. Roommate Moving Out

If you have a roommate moving out, this is good time to change the locks of your door. You don’t know if they have ever given the keys to someone or had their keys stolen and duplicated. Even if you trust them, you simply can’t be too sure if you can trust everyone whom they have come into contact with. Remove the possibility of an ex-roommate or their friends coming into your home, uninvited by having the locks changed.

 

6. Old or Worn Locks

This is something that you might not feel that we need to mention but it is something that goes overlooked all the time. If you do not want someone to easily break-into your home or if you don’t want to find yourself locked out, have the locks of your home changed when you see rust building up. If they are worn, you can also tell because the key won’t turn as easily as it should. Contact a professional locksmith in Tampa, Florida, such as, 24/7 Tampa Locksmith to change any worn or old locks you may have.

 

7. A Break in Attempt

This goes without saying, contact a professional locksmith whenever it appears as though someone has tried to break into your home. You might notice something strange with the way your door is opening, you may see some marks around your keyhole or lock, call a locksmith and have your locks changed. If your garage door looks like it has been tampered with, contact a locksmith today.

 

8. Old and Obsolete Locks

Tampa Rekey

It is just a good rule of thumb to change your locks every couple of years since locks can become worn and not as reliable as they were when they were first installed. Some locks become obsolete and are not longer able to add the level of effectiveness that they used to. This is because burglars may have become more skillful in their method of breaking locks. If you have one that they have mastered, you certainly wouldn’t want to find out the hard way be experiencing a break-in.

 

9. Electronic Locks Compromised

If you arrive home and you notice that your locks have been compromised, this is a good enough reason to have the code changed or another lock installed. It is pretty hard to compromise these types of locks but not impossible depending on the type of electronic lock that you have installed.

 

While the above can serve as a guide to know when to have your locks changed, there may be other instances, which have not been discussed. One thing we would suggest you do is, listen to your instinct. Don’t take any unnecessary chances with your safety and don’t allow yourself to become victimized by a burglary when you can help it. In some instances, it is a matter of not prioritizing what we need to get done. If you feel as though your safety and that of your family is important, do not walk, run, to the nearest locksmith service to get the help that you need to have your locks changed.

You might feel that it makes more sense to just buy the lock from your closest hardware store and install it on your own. This isn’t always the smartest thing to do if you lack the training and experience to properly install locks. The key to making sure your safety is not jeopardized is to make sure a professional locksmith correctly installs your locks. It might be more cost-effective to handle the job often your own but it might not be the wisest thing to do. You’ll have to ask yourself whether or not it is more important to save a buck or two or protect your assets and your loved ones. Most people would answer the latter yet they still don’t do anything to prevent an incident from occurring that can otherwise be avoided. Act now by contacting a professional locksmith service in Florida who is trustworthy, affordable and efficient.

Article source here: When to Change Your Locks