Frustrating situations happen to the best of us. Of course, in hindsight, some are completely preventable. Let’s say, for instance, your tire blows out. Maybe you saw your tire pressure light go on, but figured that you could ignore it for a little bit of time because the leak from the tire didn’t seem to be too fast. When you’re stuck on the side of the road, you will look back and wish you had fixed the problem right away. But we aren’t here to talk about cars. No matter where you are located, a lock and security provider will understand what you are going through if you end up getting locked out. But let’s talk about ways to prevent lockouts from happening at all. If you can prevent the problem from ever occurring, then you won’t have to worry about shelling out cash to have someone come out to help you. Here are some of the top ways to avoid getting locked out…
Prevent Automotive Lockouts
Don’t continue to use a key with a dead battery. Once you have to start physically pressing the interior lock button on your car’s door, you are risking a lockout. Get that battery swapped out as soon as you notice that it is dying or already dead.
If you are going to continue to use a car key with a dead battery, then get into a habit while using it. For instance, don’t ever get out of your car and hit the lock button inside of the door unless you physically have the key in the palm of your hand. Getting into a habit or routine will help to prevent a lockout from ever happening.
Get in the habit of not shutting the door unless you have your key in your pocket or in your hand.
Prevent Home Lockouts
Home lockouts tend to happen when keys become lost. You can set up devices that can be attached to your keys so that a sound alerts you as to where the key is, if you tend to sometimes be a bit forgetful.
Make sure that you have given a neighbor or trusted companion a copy of your house key. Knowing that someone nearby has a copy of the key to get into your home (that you can trust, of course) can bring you peace of mind during a lockout, and prevent you from having to call a locksmith. You will only be momentarily locked out, in this case.
Go keyless. Having a keyless entry system set up will prevent you from having to use a key at all. In this case, you will only get locked out if you don’t remember your code. But one solution to this is to keep the code written down in a secure spot, such as your wallet.
Buy a hide a key. You can install a hide a key in a discreet area on your property. Perhaps you have a pool with a waterfall and oversized rocks around the patio. A hide a key can take on the appearance of a rock! This way, you will have another copy of your key already on your property, so you won’t be locked out for too long.
Prevent Business Property Lockouts
Getting locked out of your place of work is certainly a pain. But again, it is something that is avoidable.
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Make a couple of copies of your key, and hand them out to employees you know you can trust. If you run a clothing store, make sure any supervisors have keys so that they can access the property without you if need be.
Go keyless! This is becoming more and more popular for businesses, especially ones that are interested in access control (that is, eliminating access to certain points of their property so that only the most trusted, experienced individuals are granted entry). If you don’t have to carry a key around, then you won’t ever lose it and thereby get locked out.
As with a vehicle or home, get into the habit of making sure that you don’t lock any doors unless you have a key in your hand already.
It is a good idea to try to form habits that will prevent you from getting locked out. Lockouts are quite stressful, especially when they happen in the middle of the night. Locksmiths understand that they never occur at appropriate times, and that is why most are available to help customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Just keep in mind that if you do lock yourself out, you have automotive, residential and commercial lock and security experts who can get you back in, if you are unable to figure out an alternative way of getting back in. Don’t cause damage to the property, don’t break a window open, and don’t risk injury to get in to your property. An expert will be able to manipulate your locks and help you to regain access to your property.