Top 10 Reasons for Changing Your Locks
Changing the locks in our home should be as routine and as essential as any other maintenance job we do. Locks help to keep our hard earned possessions and even our lives safe. There are several occasions when it is important to consider changing locks.
- If you lose your house keys, one of the first things you’ll want to do is to have the locks changed. After all you have no idea where they might end up. Even if your keys are returned by an apparently good Samaritan, you can never be sure that they weren’t copied first.
- If you’re moving into a new home, you’ll want new keys as well. It’s impossible to know how many keys the previous owners gave out or what kind of friends they may have had. It’s better to be safe than sorry and change all the locks.
- If you ask neighbors to check on the house while you’re away, change the locks whether you get the keys back or not. While you may trust the person you gave the key to, you have no way of knowing if someone less scrupulous had access to the key.
- If you’ve given out spare keys to repairmen or other service people and don’t get the keys back, change the locks. Again it’s a case of never being sure who might have access to the keys.
- If you’re going through a separation or divorce change the locks. As much as we may feel we trust the other person and want an amicable divorce, emotions run high and possessions can become an area of contention. You don’t want to come home to find half your belongings gone.
- If you have room mates, the same rule applies. When they leave, change the locks. You may trust them but it’s impossible to know what will happen to that key once they’re gone. You don’t want to return home after a weekend away to find out that an acquaintance of your ex roommate held a party for a hundred of their closest friends.
- If your locks are old or difficult to work it’s time to replace them. Worn locks can fail or at the very least you may find yourself locked out.
- If you’ve had a break in or attempted break in have all the locks changed and improve the overall security of your home.
- If you give keys to your children so they can let themselves in after school, change the locks frequently. Kids may lose their key or even lend it to a friend.
- It’s a good idea to change your locks every few years, even if you haven’t experienced any of the above situations. Locks can become obsolete and security technology changes. If you have concerns about protecting your home and possessions you need to keep up with these changes.