What to Do If You’re Locked Out of a Room in Your Own House
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Originally Posted On: https://locksmithmcallen.com/what-to-do-if-youre-locked-out-of-a-room-in-your-own-house/
Maybe you didn’t see your child sneak behind your bedroom door and lock it right before you walked out of the room and slammed the door shut behind you. Or maybe you can’t find the key to the garage door that you keep locked all the time so that your kids aren’t able to get into it.
Whatever the case, there aren’t too many things that are as frustrating as getting locked out of a room in your own house. You pay a lot of money to live in your house every month, so you should be able to access all the rooms in it without a problem.
When you realize that you’ve locked yourself out of a room in your house, your first instinct might be to kick the door down in frustration. But you shouldn’t take that approach to getting locked out of a room in your home.
Instead, you should try one of the other methods that will help you get back into the room. Learn about some of these methods below.
Check to See If Anyone Is Inside the Room
This should almost go without saying. But if you ever find yourself locked out of a room in your home, the first thing you should always do is check to see if someone is inside.
Knock on the door—and knock hard—while asking, “Is anyone in there?” You may have to repeat this process a few times before you get a response if anyone is, in fact, in the locked room.
Your spouse may have gone into the bedroom to change and locked the door behind them without you realizing it. Or your teenager may have locked themselves in the bathroom to get away from their annoying younger sibling in a fit of anger.
There is, of course, a decent chance that you’re just locked out of the room for no reason. But before you start banging your head against the wall and working your way through the other suggestions listed here, knock on a locked door to see if anyone will answer it.
This could be the simplest solution to your problem. It could also help you avoid unnecessary headaches down the line.
Make Sure You’re Using the Right Key for the Room
Are you locked out of a room in your home that you always keep locked and use a key to access? It could be your key that is causing the problem.
In some cases, you might be using the wrong key to try to get into the room. You may have grabbed the wrong key when you went to pick up the key for the room.
There might also be an issue with the right key. If the key is on the older side, it might not be capable of opening the door that you want to open anymore. Or you might need to jiggle it around a little bit to get it to work.
Regardless, you should check to see that you’re using the right key before you work yourself up into too much of a panic over a locked door. Simply finding the right key could be the answer to your prayers.
Consider Going Outside and Climbing Through a Window Into the Room
If you’re sure that you’re locked out of a room in your home and can’t get into it by knocking on the door or using a different key, you’re going to have to start to get creative. It’ll take some work on your part to get back into the locked room.
If the room has a window in it, one way to work your way back into the room is by going outside and checking to see if the window is unlocked. If it is, you could essentially break back into the room by breaking into your own home.
Those who choose to gain access to a locked room in their home in this way should let their neighbors know that they’re going to do it. The last thing you want is for one of your neighbors to call the cops on you because they think someone is breaking into your house.
But you can get around a locked door by going with this approach. It’ll get you into a locked room in no time without forcing you to do anything to the door to the room or the lock on it.
Look at the Lock on a Door to See If It Has a Bypass
Most of the interior doors inside of homes have what’s called a bypass on them. You’ll know that a door has a bypass if you see a tiny hole on the outside of a doorknob.
If you’ve locked yourself out of a room with a bypass on the lock, it should be simple enough for you to get back into the room. You can stick a lock bypass tool or even something like a tiny screwdriver into the hole on the doorknob and unlock it in seconds.
Just be careful about how aggressive you are when sticking anything into the hole in a doorknob. If you’re too rough with it, you could do damage to the lock and make it harder than it should be for you to get back into a locked room.
Give the Old Credit Card Trick a Try on a Locked Door
The average person has about four credit cards in their wallet. They also have debit cards, ID cards, membership cards, and more.
Put one of these cards to good use the next time you find yourself on the wrong side of a locked door in your home. As long as a card is made out of sturdy and durable plastic, it could be the key to you gaining access to a locked room.
To unlock a door with a credit card, all you need to do is:
- Stick a credit card into the crack that exists between a door and a door frame
- Gently move the credit card down in the direction of the lock on the door
- Tilt the credit card in the direction of the doorknob on the door once it reaches the latch for the lock
- Bend the credit card back in the other direction once it reaches the latch
- Push or pull your door while moving the credit card back and forth to jimmy to the door open
This trick isn’t going to work well with all doors and all locks. But it’s worth a shot if you’re frustrated about not being able to get into a locked room.
Try Your Hand at Picking the Lock on a Door
When most people think about those who are able to pick locks, they think about criminal masterminds. But the truth is that you can learn how to pick a lock if you have the right tools and a ton of patience.
Just to be clear: We would not recommend that you attempt to pick a lock if you don’t have the slightest clue what you’re doing. We also would not recommend it to anyone who is planning to use anything other than tools that are specifically designed for picking locks.
But if you have some experience with lock picking and have access to lock picking tools, it’s an option. Most interior door locks are easy enough to pick with basic tools and a little bit of insider knowledge.
Call on a Local Locksmith to Unlock Your Door
If you’ve tried everything else listed here and still can’t seem to get through a locked door, you might think you’re all out of options. The only thing left to do is to kick in the door or find some other way to bust through it, right?
Wrong. You also have the option of calling a local locksmith to lend a hand.
Look for a residential locksmith in your area that specializes in helping homeowners who have locked themselves out of either their whole home or one specific room in their home. They can take a trip out to your home, look at the lock that is giving you fits, and get it unlocked right away.
This method is so simple that you might even want to do this before trying anything else. There are lots of benefits that come along with using a locksmith to get into a locked room in your home rather than trying to do it on your own.
A locksmith will, first and foremost, make sure they use the right techniques when trying to unlock a locked door. They’ll also be extra careful about not breaking the lock on your door.
And maybe best of all, most locksmiths will make themselves available to you at any time of the day or night. With a 24-hour locksmith, you can get into any locked room in your home, no matter how early in the morning or late at night it might be.
You should develop a close working relationship with a reliable locksmith in your area as soon as you can. They can assist you with getting into a locked room in your home and help handle things like lock installation, key duplication, safe cracking, and more.
Think About Breaking Down a Locked Door in an Emergency
More often than not, getting locked out of a room won’t be the end of the world. It’ll prove to be little more than a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things.
But there are certain instances in which you’re not going to be able to wait very long to get back into a room that is locked. For example, you may need to get back into the room because there is a newborn unattended in it or someone is inside but too sick or injured to unlock the door.
In these cases, you may have no choice but to do everything in your power to break down the door. You’ll find yourself in the middle of an emergency that warrants you taking this particular approach.
If you have absolutely have to do it, you should kick down your door right away. While you’re doing it, you should use the proper technique and make sure you:
- Kick the door on the same side where the lock is located since this is the weakest aspect of the door
- Drive your heel directly into the door (not the lock!) with as much force as you can
- Steer clear of jumping while you kick the door since this could lead to you losing a lot of your power
It may take several kicks for you to break down the door, but you should be able to do it.
Later, you can then call on a locksmith to come in and fix the damage done to the door. They can help you recover from the situation and get things back to normal in your home.
Avoid Getting Locked Out of a Room in Your Home Again
Accidents happen when you own a home. There are going to be times when you accidentally close a door that’s locked and find yourself standing on the wrong side of it.
When this occurs, it’s important for you to stay calm and avoid freaking out. It’s also important for you to walk through the steps we’ve listed here when you’re locked out of a room.
Moving forward, you should also try your best not to make the mistake of locking yourself out of a room. You can do this by talking to your kids about not locking doors without asking and by making sure you upgrade your locks every so often so that your keys always work in them.
If there is ever anything we can do to help you with the locks on the doors in your home, we would love to help. We can provide you with the locksmith services you need at any time.
Contact us today to have a locksmith come out to your home to assist you.