The Dangers of Keeping Old Locks

01/19/2017 Back To Blog

For most of us, keeping your locks unchanged for years or decades can seem like a normal way to live. Many of us don't really think about the risks involved of having locks that were installed an unknown amount of years in the past. The fact however is that lock designs are improved and updated regularly for a reason. The older your home locks are, the more vulnerable they become, and the more likely they will soon succumb to failure. Here we outline some of the most important threats that can apply if your locks are increasingly aged and outdated.

Very Old Locks Can Be Picked

Some of the latest lock designs can be disassembled or cracked by learned criminals. So you can imagine, the older you lock, the easier it is to bypass. If you still have an open keyhole style lock that is several decades old, it is basically a sitting duck. If your locks are broken, a locksmith will be needed to come and provide you a lock change service. They will also be able to provide you with new keys that fit the new lock perfectly and reduce the risk of any of your old keys being copied and reused.

Old Locks Can Fail

If you have left your locks to rust, stiffen up and become hard to use, it's only a matter of time before it snaps your key. When this happens you could be thrown into a nasty home lockout situation. In these situations it is very tempting to lose your mind to anger and frustration and end up damaging your property in some way. The best way to react however, is to have the number of a local locksmith at hand. This way they can let you in safely without bringing harm to you or your home.

Old Locks Come With Old Keys

Old keys are often large, chunky, heavy and annoyingly cumbersome. This may be a good thing for you, if you have trouble with sight or other handicaps, but if you are healthy, there is no reason to continue messing around with old tools. Modern locks can even be completely keyless, which is great if like the rest of us you have a bad habit of losing keys on a regular basis. Even if you don't want to make the jump to a fully automated keyless locks, modern standard metal locks and keys have far superior bolt strengths as well as lighter and smoother working key designs.