What to Do if You Get Your Key Stuck in a Lock?

Troubles with a lock and key are quite common with the doors of your house or cars. Especially with residential locks, the chances of a stuck key are more. It can be truly a bad start to the day if your key gets stuck in the door while you are leaving for the office or a meeting. It gets even worse when you head back from a tiring day at work and cannot open the lock for a stuck key! In such cases, calling a professional locksmith is the easiest thing to do. But, if you do not have the contact details of the right locksmith, you can always try out some DIY hacks only if the time permits.

Things you should not do

Before guiding you with what you should do when stuck with a key in the lock, here are some of the things that you must not do! Firstly, do not panic as your anxious thoughts will not help the situation in any way. Also, applying force on the stuck key will only create damage to the lock. It can also bend the structure of the key if you forcefully pull or push the key in a direction. Banging the door or pushing it will only make the lock setup vibrate and the key more stuck inside.

Things to do: Now that you know the list of things you should not try, it is time to identify the right things to do! Give a quick read and know better.

Try some lubricant

Key lubricants are very useful in such situations and mostly work like a charm in releasing the key. There are lube sprays that are especially useful for keyholes and keys. You should always keep these sprays handy and outside the door of your apartment so that you can use them in such situations. If you do not have a lubricant spray at the moment, use some cream-based product on the key. Although it is not as useful as the lubricant, it can still be a decent try!

Use a pin

A pin or a pencil is a good old trick that can come in handy in such a case. Try to insert the sharp-pointed pen or pencil along the sides of the stuck key and alter the position. A continuous movement on the sides of the key can make the setup detached and ease the key inside the lock. If you do not have a pin, you can also use a blade or a pocket knife to use it as a helping tool.

Graphite powder can help

Graphite powder is also a type of lubricant but in a different form. Most locksmith Atlanta uses it and keeps it with them to smoothen a lock. As a part of the maintenance toolset for your residence, keeping a box of graphite powder is a must. Put the powder inside the lock holes by squeezing it from the small bottle. Always use gloves when you put the powder inside the keyhole.

Ice can be useful

Sometimes when you are out of any key lubricant, you can try using plastic and some ice. It often works like a miracle in making the key move smoothly inside. Keep one or two ice cubes inside a tin plastic and hold it on the side of the keyhole where the key has got stuck. The ice melts with the pressure that you hold it with and enters inside the hole. The water can help in making the stuck key looser and help you to pull it out. However, if your key or lock is iron-made, the professional locksmith Duluth advises you to refrain from such practices as they can create rust inside.

Take help from tutorials

If you have failed in pulling out the key after all these attempts, it is time to try the only two options left. One option is to call an expert professional agency, like the 7Mondays Locksmith, to get an effective and efficient solution. The other solution is to look for more options to try with YouTube tutorials. However, the second option is not a wise decision to take if you are in a hurry.

Keep the contact details handy

Keep every said trick and process in mind to help yourself when you are in a rush. But for finding an effective solution, calling an expert is the only right thing to do! Thus, keep the phone number saved in your smartphone so that you do not panic and call them right away!