Contrary to popular belief, the door locks in your home are not designed to last forever. You’ll be lucky if you’re able to get a decade out of them before they need to be replaced with new door locks.

There are also many door lock problems that you might face in between the time you install door locks and the time you eventually replace them. You might have to call a residential locksmith to have your door locks repaired for any number of reasons.

It’s a good idea for you to familiarize yourself with the different door lock problems that could pop up over the years. The second you spot the signs associated with one, you should have a professional come out to your home to inspect your door locks and figure out what’s wrong with them.

Take a look at a few of the most common door lock problems that homeowners are forced to deal with on a regular basis below.

Loose Doorknobs

Most people walk in and out of their homes dozens of times each day. Every time they do, they have to grab on a doorknob, turn it, pull it, and then pull it again from the other side to close a door.

As you might imagine, this can put a lot of wear and tear on a doorknob over time. It can even start to make it come loose sooner or later.

If you have a loose doorknob on one of the exterior doors in your home, it can cause all kinds of door lock problems for you. You might end up ripping your doorknob right off your door and preventing yourself from being able to lock it until you’ve it repaired.

The good news is that fixing a loose doorknob is often as easy as tightening the screws holding it in place on the inside of your home. But if that doesn’t work, you might need to replace the spindle in your doorknob or have the entire doorknob replaced.

Whatever the case, you shouldn’t continue to use a loose doorknob for any longer than you have to. It’s only going to cause further problems for you down the line if you don’t take the time to repair the doorknob.

Sticky Door Locks

When you stick a key into a door lock so you can lock or unlock a door, it should go in smoothly. You shouldn’t have to stand there and try to force the key into the door before forcing it to come out once the door is locked or unlocked.

If you have to use any force at all, you have a sticky door lock on your hands, and you should make an effort to fix it right away. You’re likely going to either do additional damage to your door lock by continuing to use it or break your key off in the lock by forcing it in and out all the time.

Sticky locks are more often than not caused by dirt and other debris that’s built up inside of a lock. There are products you can spray into your lock to get rid of it.

But some of these products can do more harm than good to door locks. It’s why you should consider requesting service from a locksmith to get a sticky door lock working like new again.

Stuck Deadbolts

The exterior doors in your home should have more than just locks on the doorknobs. You should also have deadbolts installed on these doors since they’re going to serve as the first line of defense if someone ever tries to break into your home.

When a deadbolt is locked, it’ll make it very difficult for someone to bust down the door to your home. Your door will stand strong in most cases, no matter how hard a person works to get through it.

In order to use a deadbolt, though, you need for it to slide through the strike plate that you’ve set up in your door jamb. The deadbolt will pass through the strike plate and into your door jamb to secure your exterior door.

If you find that it’s very difficult to turn your deadbolt and activate it, this can be a problem. Your deadbolt isn’t going to do you much good when it’s stuck in place and won’t pass through the strike plate.

When a deadbolt is stuck like this, it means the deadbolt and the strike plate aren’t aligned. You might be able to get the deadbolt to move by lifting your door up while turning it, but this won’t be a long-term fix for this issue.

To get your deadbolt working the way it should, you’ll need to hire a locksmith to remove your strike plate and reposition it so that everything is aligned the way it should be. By moving your strike plate just a little, you can stop a stuck deadbolt from affecting the security of your home.

Misaligned Door Locks

The deadbolt that you have on an exterior door isn’t the only thing that can suffer from misalignment. The door lock on your doorknob can also be misaligned, which can prevent your door from latching properly when you close it.

Do you find that you have to wrestle with your door every time you close it to get it to latch? This is sometimes a sign that the latch on your door and the strike plate for it aren’t in alignment.

You might be able to fix this problem on your own by making a few minor adjustments to your door. You can try to do it by tightening the screws on your door hinges and adjusting the positioning of your strike plate ever so slightly.

But if this doesn’t do the trick, you’re going to need a professional on your side to realign your door and door lock. There are even some instances in which you might need to have your entire door replaced along with the door lock that goes with it.

Bad Weatherstripping

All the exterior doors in your home should have weatherstripping around them. Weatherstripping is designed to stop air from outside from getting in. It’s also designed to stop air from inside leaking out.

But over the years, weatherstripping will begin to go bad on you. It might even start to fall apart and disintegrate if you go too long without replacing it.

This can impact both the door with the bad weatherstripping on it and the lock that’s on the door. Your door might not open and close properly when your weatherstripping has gone bad. This can affect the alignment of your door lock and prevent it from working right.

You should stay on top of the weatherstripping on your exterior doors and replace them as necessary. You should also consider what role weatherstripping could be having if you experience door lock problems. It could very well be to blame for issues with your door locks.

Broken Keys

If you’ve been using the same locks and keys in your home for years now, there’s a good chance they’ve all worn down to some degree. The locks won’t work as well as they used, and the keys will have lots of wear and tear on them.

The combination of these two things can cause a key to snap and get stuck inside of a door lock every now and then. It can leave you scratching your head and wondering what in the world you’re supposed to do next to fix the problem.

If a portion of your broken key is sticking out of your door lock after breaking, you might be able to remove it yourself with little more than needle-nose pliers. But in many instances, a key will break in a lock and be too difficult to remove for the average homeowner.

In this case, you should reach out to one of the broken key removal experts in your community for assistance. They can come out to your home at just about any time and work to remove your broken key from your door lock. They can also set you up with new keys for your doors or replace your door locks if they’re in bad shape.

Home Lockouts

If you live in a house for long enough, you’re going to lock yourself out of it at some point. This is one of the most common door lock problems of all. Millions of people find themselves locked out of their houses each year.

Fortunately, there are some simple ways to get back into your house if you’re ever in this position. You can:

• Walk around the outside of your house and see if there are any doors or windows that are unlocked
• Find the spare key that you placed somewhere on the exterior of your home
• Call someone who lives with you and ask them to come home and unlock a door with their keys

You can also turn to a trusted locksmith for help. A professional home lockouts service provider can visit your home in a hurry and help you get back into it within the hour in many cases.

There are some people who will resort to taking drastic measures when locked out of their homes. They’ll break a window or kick in a door to gain access to it again.

You’re welcome to do this in an emergency situation. If you’ve locked an infant inside or left the stove on, finding a way to break into your own home isn’t the worst idea in the world.

But otherwise, it makes more sense to call on a locksmith for help. They can come out to your home and get you back inside in no time. They can also talk to you about the high-tech door locks that are available to those who want to be able to unlock a door without the use of keys.

Burglary Damage

According to the US Department of Justice, there are almost 4 million home burglaries per year.

In many of these home burglaries, burglars are able to get into a home by walking right through an unlocked door. But in others, burglars have to break down a door to get into a home.

While in the process of breaking down a door, a burglar will often cause a lot of damage to the lock on it. They’ll also damage the door and its frame.

If you’re ever the victim of a burglary, you should spring into action right away. You should get in touch with the police to let them know what’s happened and touch base with a locksmith that specializes in delivering burglary damage repair services.

A locksmith might be able to repair your door locks, your door, and anything else that was damaged during the burglary that occurred. They might also recommend replacing your door locks with something a little stronger just in case someone ever tries to break into your home again.

Don’t Let These Door Lock Problems Take a Toll on Your Home

Compared to some of the other things inside your home, door locks won’t cost you very much. But you could make the argument that they’re some of the most important things that you’ll ever buy for your home.

By investing in high-quality locks from a locksmith, you can prevent door lock problems from popping up on you. You can also ensure that your door locks are always in good working order and doing what they can to keep your home secure.

Are you experiencing any of the door lock problems listed here or are looking to have new locks installed on the doors in your home? Contact us today to find out more about our residential locksmith services.