Effects of Temperature Changes in Door Locks
One of the most common causes of issues arising in the lock is the changing weather. As and when the temperature starts to fluctuate and rise, Commercial and residential door starts to jam and fails to function properly. Look out for ‘cheap locksmith near me’ services.
What happens during the summer?
With temperature slowly rising in the summer, homeowners face jam locks. Thus affects on the doors present outside as increasing temperature causes the door to get expanded. Therefore, locks can get a lot difficult to get stuck or turn entirely in one single position.
This is more common in the following situations:
It is common in closed deadbolt locks that are compressed in the door with the door frame swelling around it.
For wooden door frames and exterior door, wood material is a lot more prone to swelling and getting contracted in extreme conditions.
What happens during the winter?
In colder regions, the lock problems usually get manifested during the cold months of the year. With the temperature falling below freezing, it causes the door frame to contract. This results in a poor fit between the doors and lock itself:
This is more common in the following situations:
Wooden exterior door frames and doors that get affected by extreme humidity levels
Door frames which are made of wood and tends to contract in extremely cold conditions
It might seem challenging to turn key in a deadbolt while locking and unlocking the exterior doors. Try pulling in on door handle for a quick fix from the outside in order to re-center the lock inside the frame. However, this is not a permanent solution, and it will get worse with time. It will be impossible to unlock or lock the door eventually.
The doors often get frozen and congested with ice; there are diverse alternatives of lubricant spray which have been designed to dissolve congestion with fluid and air pressure. This is a very productive yet common solution for frozen locks. Another solution helping frozen locks is preheating the key prior to inserting it in the lock. By gently turning it back and forth, the ice might melt away while releasing the lock once again.
How to prevent this?
In addition to the solutions mentioned above, here are a few suggestions that will help you in preventing this kind of situation. It will help you be prepared and save time, trouble and money.
Regularly oil the locks: Oil all the locks that include car locks, door locks, window locks, garage, and door locks and similar locks and prevent them from being frozen.
Prevent the locks from getting wet: Keep the locks away from rain, and it will prevent them from getting frozen when the temperature is low that turns the water into ice.
Warm and then dry the padlock: The padlocks needs to be removed from time to time. Dry it away from moisture and warm it for preventing it from being frozen.
Conclusion:
Though it can seem quite challenging to meet the effects of temperature changes in door locks, however with simple solutions available it can help cure the problem. Make the most of reliable ‘cheap locksmith near me’ services.