If the door does not open.
How to open a frozen house door lock.
If you re struggling to get your key in wiggle it around a bit until it gently slides in.
Believe it or not a small bottle of alcohol based hand sanitizer is all you need to open a frozen lock.
Tackling a frozen door lock.
With a door latch stuck closed you may need to shim the latch so that it retracts enough to open the door.
Exterior locks can freeze interior locks get dirty and small internal parts eventually wear out or break.
If you often deal with frozen locks where you live here are some things that you can use to prevent or locks from freezing or defrost your already frozen locks.
If the whole lockset is worn it is best to replace it entirely.
Nonetheless mechanisms filled with gunk broken keys rust and misalignment may cause jammed door locks.
Before you buy a replacement lock try some quick remedies.
Don t force the key when you are trying to open the lock.
And in the event that you don t know what to do or don t want to risk damaging the lock the professionals at great valley lockshop are just one phone call away and able to come out in a pinch to get your day back on.
If you break the key you have got an even bigger problem.
Door lock is frozen or works slowly.
To defrost your lock simply coat your key with hand sanitizer and insert the key gently into the frozen lock but do not force it.
The bottom line is to always keep safety in mind and use extra caution when attempting to open a frozen door lock yourself.
Hand sanitizers work because the alcohol in them melts the ice that has made the lock seize up.
Frozen door locks are easier to fix than you might expect as long as you have the right tool handy.
The last thing you want is a broken key or lock or even worse a key that breaks off inside your lock.
With a door latch stuck closed and cannot be shimmed because of latch guards or because the components are frozen you will need to simply take the lock off the door.
How to fix a jammed door lock.
Never pour hot water on a frozen lock.
Door locks attract magnets.
If you force frozen locks they can break and cause you to sit in the freezing temperatures waiting for a locksmith.