It can be quite embarrassing if you accidentally lock yourself out of your house. If you were in a rush when you were leaving the house, you lost your keys, or you forgot to pick them up, locking yourself out of the house may make you nervous.
However, there is nothing to be worried about. If you do not have keys to your house, panicking will only make things worse. First of all, you need to relax. Once you are calm, only then will you be able to find alternate solutions. Here are some things that you can do to open the gate to your house.
- Try The Back Door
We all are guilty of having a broken back door. Very often, we avoid fixing the back door because we just forget about it. Although having a broken lock on your back door is very unsafe it can be quite useful for situations like these.
Inspect your backdoor and try to open it. Backdoor locks are often not secure enough. A single jolt may break them. If you are lucky, you can easily get back in from the house through the backdoor.
- Look For Any Open Windows
Windows on your first floor are also a great option to get back in the house. Inspect your first floor and see if there is any window open. If any window is open, you can try to open the window pane wider. Before jumping in, look around to see if there is anything near your landing area. You do not want to break your lamp or a vase.
If none of the windows are open and all of them are shut, then you need to look at the next step.
- Try To Pick The Lock
YouTube DIY videos might come in handy now. You can try to pick up the lock of your house using different lock picking techniques. You might have watched it in movies and diy videos to pick the lock.
Some of the common ways to pick a lock are using bobby pins or credit cards. You can use two bobby pins to open the lock. If your lock is of a different type, you can use a credit card as well. However, if your front door lock is secure from these techniques, then you need professional help.
- Call For Professional Help
Now that all your techniques and self-help have gone redundant, you need to call the professionals. You can easily find contact information about your local locksmith who can help you out.
Professionals can easily identify any door lock with the right tools. You might not need to break your lock as well.
- Prepare For Future
Now that you are back inside the house, make sure that you prepare yourself for the future. You should always check your keys before leaving the house. Moreover, make sure that you take these precautionary steps.
- Give a spare key to trustworthy neighbors.
- Put a spare key somewhere hidden in the porch.
- Keep a spare key in your car.
1. Check Other Doors
The first thing to try is perhaps the most obvious. If you were absent-minded enough to wind up locked outside the house, there is a chance you may have forgotten to secure some of your other doors. So check all your home’s other entry points: patio doors, garage doors, side doors. There may be an outside chance one of them is open.
Word of warning: Don’t ever try to force open an outside door. Not only will you ruin the door, but you can also hurt yourself.
2. Check First-Floor Windows
If all the doors are locked, perhaps a window may be open on the first floor. Many people faithfully lock their doors, but don’t necessarily latch the windows. If you find a window that’s big enough for you to crawl through, carefully remove the screen and check what’s on the inside before you enter the window. You wouldn’t want to knock over your grandmother’s heirloom vase, your TV or crush your plants.
Entering through a window is another way you can hurt yourself, so proceed with caution.
3. Find Someone Who May Have a Key
Depending on your living situation, your significant other, roommate or even a family member may have another copy of the key. Call them and tell them, “I’m locked out of my house.” If you rent, your landlord will probably have an extra set of keys. You will have to arrange to meet them to pick them up. If you live in an apartment, visit the superintendent and let them know you locked yourself out.
Be sure you have identification, especially if you live in a large apartment complex. The managers may not know everybody who lives there, and may require you to identify yourself before they open your door.
