Frozen Locks

In the upcoming months our office will be flooded with calls from customers whose locks are frozen making them unable to unlock their home or office door and even worse the car door. We have come up with a few tips on how you can avoid being stranded in the cold with frozen locks.

# 1 If you have access to a lighter or matches you can use them to heat up the key for the lock you are trying to unfreeze. After you have heated the key up insert it into the lock and jiggle it around a few times allowing the heat to thaw out the locking mechanism inside the lock and then turn the key. The lock should open right up, but you need to be careful when heating the key not only because metal heats quickly and you could burn yourself but also when metal is hot it is very pliable and too much force could cause you to bend the key making it unusable.

# 2 If you do not have a lighter or matches but have just stepped out of your vehicle and noticed the locks on your home or office are frozen you can use the heat the your vehicle generates to try to heat up the key. Your vehicles engine generates an extreme amount of heat so simply place the key on or as close to the engine block as you can and hold it there until the key is hot then try to stick it into the lock, again be careful not to damage your key while attempting to jiggle the lock.

# 3 Maybe you do not have a lighter and your car is the one with the frozen locks do not worry we have a solution for you too. Hand sanitizer is carried by just about everyone and if you do not carry any right now we suggest you go get some. Since hand sanitizers are filled with alcohol you can use a little squirt on your key and the alcohol will thaw the locks in question for you. This is a much safer way than the lighter since you have no real chance of damaging your key but if your hand sanitizer is a lotion or one of the ones you get from Bath& Body works with the little beads in it DO NOT use it. If you do use it and put the key inside the lock residue will stay in there causing more problems down the road.

#4 There is a new handy little deicer on the market today that allows you to not have to worry about damaging your key it is called the The Hillman Group Lock De-icer available at some hardware stores. This device has a self heating pin inside of it that you can insert into the locks to thaw them out. Not very expensive so if you are living in a area where frozen locks are a common occurrence than it might be a great investment.

# 5 The best piece of advice we can give you is to stock up on the lock deicer which is sold at just about every hardware and drug store in the world. A little bottle will run you a few bucks but will save you quite the headache and stress of a frozen lock.

If all of our suggestions fail you we apologize but you need to call the professionals and we always have a full staff of licensed locksmiths standing by 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Personal Locksmith Services for Your Home and Business

Personal Locksmith Services for Your Home and Business

It's two o'clock in the morning and you have locked yourself out of your house. You call up a locksmith in your area and wait for him to arrive. You’ve never had a reason to call a locksmith before so you're really not sure what your options are at this point. Once he arrives, he explains what can be done, the cost, and how long it will take.

This is the type of scenario that most people imagine when they think about a locksmith and the services he can provide. While this type of professional can certainly help you when you find yourself locked out of your vehicle, business or home, there are many other services that these professional companies offer that you may not know about.

Why you should use a locksmith professional to install your new lock

It's never a good idea to purchase a lock from a hardware store. These locks are mass-produced and some of them use the same key. Many of the locks within a batch lot come from the manufacturer with the exact same key. It's definitely possible that your key matches one of your neighbours' keys! In most cases the criminal is not going to be carrying around a lot of different keys to break into a home but at the same time there's a chance that one of your neighbours can access your home using his own key. When you use the services of a locksmith company, however, you won't have to worry about other keys fitting into your lock.

As well, it's easy for a thief to defeat the cheap type of locks that you can purchase from the big box stores. Most of the locks offered at these stores have been mass-produced by manufacturers that are reputable but the standards on these locks are very low. A locksmith will install high-quality locks on your home that provide the true security you need to protect your family and your assets.

Contractors are far from being professionals when it comes to installing dead bolt locks on a door. If a lock isn't installed correctly, you won't be protected. A locksmith has the experience and the tools to install custom locks and deadbolts that will keep your home safe.

High-quality locks are a necessity

If there is a window placed on your door or near it, a deadbolt that uses a thumb turn won't keep you protected. A thief can knock the glass out of the window and stick his hand in to turn the lock. The best type of deadbolt system is one that has a minimum "throw" of 1 inch and a security plate that has screws measuring a minimum of 3 inches in length that go into the wood frame of the door. The lock should have a double cylinder on it with a key that secures the lock from the inside.

The same holds true for window locks

For the same security reasons, your window locks should also be fitted by a licensed locksmith. If a thief discovers that it's difficult to break in through a door, he will often turn to the windows next. Once you have your doors handled, you should also look into your options for secure window locks.

Rekey your home after a purchase

When you move into a home one of the first calls you should make is to a locksmith. You have been given the keys to the new home but you don't know who else has the same keys. There's a good chance that the previous owner made extra copies and handed them out to family members, neighbours, contractors working on the home etc. When you get settled into your new home, you'll never really know who could walk in unannounced.

• You should also consider changing your locks for the following reasons:
• Your house has been burglarized
• You have lost your keys
• Your current security lock is worn out or not working properly
• You’re using a builder's grade of lock and require something more secure
• Someone has stolen your purse with the keys in it
• You can no longer keep track of all the service people, neighbours and contractors that have been given keys to your home
  

Locksmith services for businesses

If you own any type of business, you need to protect your assets. A professional locksmith company has all of the latest technology available for commercial locks. Professional locks can be installed on both the front and back doors and on cabinets, office doors, desk drawers and more. Total security packages are available for large industrial and commercial businesses as well as for smaller companies.

Whether you have just purchased a new home in a brand-new subdivision, have lost your keys or simply need to upgrade, you need to hire a professional locksmith to get the job done correctly the first time. If you're not using the right locks with a proper installation, your home or business simply isn't as secure as it should be.

Key Bumping - Find out Whether Your Home Is Protected or Not

What if there was a way for a thief to enter your home just as if he had a key? You might not have the only set of keys for your home! There is an insider secret that is very low-tech that the bad guys know about but you probably don't. It's called a bump key and anyone can order them on the Internet for less than $20.

This used to be a secret that was only known by burglars but recently, thanks to the Internet, anyone can find out how to use these keys to get easy access to your home. A simple Google search explains how to use them and this has given criminals the solution they need to gain easy access to most properties.

To open a door you simply need to bump the special key. It's a special modified key that can fit into any regular lock. It works by bumping the pins in the lock cylinder out of the way so that the key can spin the lock. News coverage outlets such as ABC news have been covering this story so that unsuspecting homeowners can take precautions.

The solution? High security locks

Your best defense against a home break-in is to use a high-quality lock. Not all security locks can be bumped and every consumer needs to know the differences between a regular lock and one that offers high security. A high-end lock is the only way to provide adequate protection against bumping. These locks are pick-resistance, cannot be bumped and offers control over key duplication. They use a floating pin technology that has been patented and criminals simply won't be able to break into any home that uses high security locks.

If you currently have an existing deadbolt, you should consider supplementing your home security with a secondary lock. A chain lock, Door Guardian or a Latch lock will help to keep your family and your possessions safe. Our trained locksmiths can show you the different locks available that can't be bumped. We carry a wide range of locks that can fit into your budget and work with your security needs.

Although it is an investment, installing a secondary lock is a necessity now. If your current locks aren't using floating pins, any burglar can gain easy access to your home by using a bump key. It only takes about 30 seconds to bump these keys and enter the residence. Neighbours that are watching will think that you have given somebody one of your keys and that he is just fiddling with the lock and keys to get inside. This is how fast a thief can break into your home and you, as a home owner, need to take the proper precautions to prevent your home from being an easy target.

Tips for Protecting Your Home When on Vacation

Whether you're heading out of town for a weekend getaway or planning a two-week trip to an exotic resort, you'll want to leave your home well protected. This is the only way you'll be able to truly relax when you're on your vacation and you definitely deserve some time off from the stresses of life. Use the following tips to keep your home secure while you're away.

1. Have your mailbox emptied daily

Assign someone in the neighborhood the task of emptying your mailbox on a daily basis. It doesn't take long for flyers and other junk mail to accumulate in the box. A full mailbox is a sure indication that nobody is home to empty it.

2. Planning a longer trip? Get your grass mowed!

If you're planning to go away for a longer trip make sure that you have somebody scheduled to come in and mow your grass while you're gone. During the peak summer months grass can grow quickly in a week or two.

3. Purchase a light timer

You shouldn't be leaving all of the lights off and you shouldn't leave them on all the time either when you’re away. Leaving your lights on while you're out of town is a complete waste of energy and will also appear suspicious to anyone that may be watching your home. Light timers are cheap and easy to set up. The small cost may save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars!

4. Watch your posts on social media sites

If you've planned a trip to Hawaii for a week don't announce it to the world on your Facebook page. Don't tweet about your upcoming trip either. You can talk all you want about the trip once you've returned and can post all of the amazing pictures that you took. Until that time, however, only let your close family members and friends know that you're going away through emails, phone calls or text messages.

5. Unplug electrical devices

Protect your home from the risk of an electrical fire by unplugging your appliances and other devices such as TVs, stereos and computers. Not only will you save energy, since many appliances use up power when they're not turned on, but you’ll also protect them from any possible power surges.

6. Have a neighbour do a walk-around

Ask one of your neighbours to do a walk-around of your property both inside and out. If a water pipe decides to suddenly crack when you're gone, a break-in occurs or a storm cracks a tree trunk and sends it falling onto your roof top, you'll have someone on top of it right away.

7. Spare key in a hiding spot? Remove it!

If you have a spare key hiding under the mat at your front door make sure that you remove it before leaving for your vacation. If a thief is keeping his eyes on your home and believes that you may have left the home unoccupied, the first thing he's going to do is look for a spare key. No matter how well you think you have hidden it, remove it before you leave.

Why choose a High security lock?

There are many kinds of high security locks. The most popular ones are Medeco and Mul-T-Lock . What makes a lock high security lock?
Medeco for instance has few security futures:
     1. Each locksmith has his own key-way. What that does mean is that the profile of the key is different and only the locksmith who supplied the lock can cut you a key or re-key the lock if you can prove the owner ship of the lock.
     2. The key cuts are cut on different angles and depths. Which makes the lock impossible to be picked.
     3. The sidebar, another security future which makes that lock so special. Because of that sidebar the lock is protected from picking and use of a bump key.
     4. This lock is also protected against drilling.

Mul-T-Lock security futures:
     1. Each locksmith has his own key-way. What that does mean is that the profile of the key is different and only the locksmith who supplied the lock can cut you a key or re-key the lock if you can prove the owner ship of the lock.
     2. The key can not be copied on a regular key cutter.
     3. This lock is also protected against drilling.
     4. Patented floating pin technology which makes the lock bump and picking proved.
If you have one of those locks you have one of the best high security locks for your house. The only problem is, if you lock your self out of the house. In most of the cases we have to destroy the lock,which is not cheap but this is what a high security locks is.
If you need one of those locks installed you can always call  us at Locksmith Care at 416-828-2596!