Mark Gibbons
Changing the locks in your home should be treated as a routine maintenance job, just as you would decorate your bedroom, or clean out your guttering, however, there are some occasions when it is most important to consider changing your locks.
Just as you would carry out certain maintenance tasks on a regular basis, for your home security, it’s recommended to replace your locks every few years. As technology frequently updates, it’s important to make sure that your locks are as secure as possible.
If you have had some work done on your home and given a spare key to a contractor, even if they return they key, you may wish to replace your locks. Although a contractor may seem trustworthy and did a good job, there is no way of knowing if copies of your keys were made.
If your children have keys to lock up when the leave for school or let themselves in if they get home first, it’s worth changing your locks fairly frequently.
If your housemate moves out, the same rules will often apply. Once they have left, change the locks as it’s impossible to know what might happen after they have gone. If there is some resentment between you and an ex-housemate, with access to your home, they could easily hold a party or cause damage whilst you are away.
If you are going through a separation or divorce, as much as you may trust the other person involved and want your separation to be as pain-free as possible, emotions can often run extremely high and it can be easy to argue about possessions. To protect your belongings, change your locks to ensure that your ex-partner cannot let themselves in and take what they want.
If your locks jam regularly or take a certain knack to open or close, it’s time to update them. Worn locks can fail, leaving your home vulnerable to burglary, or you may even find yourself locked out of your own home if you can’t get your locks to open.
If homes near where you live have been victim to burglaries, for peace of mind, you should seriously consider upgrading your locks. Locks with anti-snap cylinders help to protect your home from cylinder snapping, one of the most common methods used by thieves to break into your home.
If you’ve had a break in, it’s time to reconsider your home security and change and update your locks. Even if a burglar didn't manage to break into your home, damage may have been done to your locks in the process, so for peace of mind, you should ask a professional locksmith to change them for you.
There’s no way of knowing how many sets of keys the previous owners gave out, or what sort of people the previous owners and their friends are. It’s always best not to take a risk so call a locksmith and replace the locks for your new property.
If you lose your keys, you should always change your locks, even if you have spare keys as there is no way of knowing who could get hold of them. Even if your keys are returned by a good Samaritan, or if they miraculously appear some hours or days later, you can’t be sure that copies haven’t been made.
