How to Prevent Break-Ins with Proper Lock Maintenance

Learn how proper lock maintenance can deter burglars and prevent break-ins. Discover easy steps to secure your home and avoid becoming an easy target.

The most overlooked security measure is lock maintenance to protect your home from a burglar. We lock our doors, windows, and even the garage door every night to deter potential burglars and protect our family and valuables.

But your locks and security system are the biggest deterrent to prevent burglars. Additionally, a home security system and a neighborhood watch are important in protecting your home against burglary. 

 For optimal burglary prevention with lock maintenance services, you can stay one step ahead and ease your safety concerns.  We have a few pointers on maintaining your locks and improving your security around your property in case of a break-in. Here’s the takeaway:

Why Proper Lock Maintenance Can Improve Your Home’s Security

According to ADT, 34% of intruders enter through the front door. “34% of burglars twist the doorknob and walk right in,” ADT explains. Most burglaries result from opportunity and do not come from elaborate plans.

Locks are a first line of defense for crime prevention and keep your home safe. A well-maintained lock and additional security measures give you added security and can prevent even the most determined burglar.

Lock Maintenance

Locks like deadbolt locks and smart locks are used everywhere, like homes, gates, cars, backyards, businesses, and sheds, to prevent suspicious activity. Locks are a good option for your home because they help prevent burglaries and make your home safer when used together with things like motion detection, smart locks, and other security devices.

Lock maintenance with Locksmith United lock maintenance services is essential to secure your home and is one of the most effective ways to reduce the likelihood of a break-in. Lock maintenance can prevent broken and rusty locks and should be done twice a year.

 If you have sliding glass doors, the door lock and handles will need cleaning and lubricating occasionally with a small amount of silicone spray. Rusty and outdated door locks make it look easy for many burglars who look for homes to target. Regular lock maintenance does the following:

• Prevents break-ins
• Allows for improved lock performance
• Costs less than emergency repairs
• Identifies potential issues for the homeowner

How to Clean Your Locks

If you’re wondering about door lock maintenance, regular cleaning, and lubrication every 3-6 months is key. This is because, over time, you get a build-up of dust and corrosive elements. 

A well-maintained lock acts as a barrier for would-be intruders, and looking after your locks helps extend the lock’s life. It can also prevent freezing locks in extreme cold conditions. To clean your locks and make it less easy for burglars, you should do the following:

• Use pressurized air to disperse dust out of keyway and shackle openings
• Regularly lubricate your locks and shackles
• Allow the lubricant to get deep into the lock to unfreeze stuck parts
• Never use dry graphite to clean your locks

How to Improve Home Security

All mechanical equipment needs maintenance to allow for general upkeep and prevent damage. Locksmith United provides locksmith maintenance services by ensuring your locks are updated and strengthening your home’s locks and lockset plates.

As a homeowner, it’s easy to overlook things like a weak door frame and optimal security. However, if your door is not mounted correctly or sags, your lock’s bolt and the latch will not connect properly, damaging the entire mechanism. 

If your door sags, your lock’s bolt and the latch will not connect properly, damaging the whole mechanism. Locksmith United also provides the following lock maintenance services, even for DIY home security solutions.

• Helps fix misplaced pins and worn-out components, or removes foreign items stuck in the lock. 
• Unjams lock with broken key
• Replaces lost keys
• Recognizes the signs of a break-in from a broken lock or other damage.

Use Pick -Resistant Locks

ButterflyMX says that a pick-proof lock has specialized keys and safety features that prevent lock picking, “The best pick-resistant locks to buy are the Medeco3 Cam Lock, BiLock deadbolts, and the EVVA MCS locking system. 

 A pick-proof lock has unique security features that make lock picking extremely difficult. For a genuinely secure setup, pick-proof locks are best paired with multiple devices, such as deadbolts, security cameras, and alarm systems.”

 That said, no lock is 100 % pick-proof, and ButterflyMX advises also using other security products like access control systems to help protect your home’s overall weak points. This provides peace of mind.

Update Home Security

 MBRG says using a home security system is the most effective step in beefing up home security. They advise doing the following so you won’t be an easy target.

• Update windows and doors and install solid exterior windows and doors. “Installing a solid, good quality hardwood front door and double- or triple-pane windows is a good way to strengthen your home’s perimeter and resist even the most determined burglar,” says Metro Building & Remodelling.
• Upgrade your locks to deadbolts to reinforce the door’s security and equip windows with sensors and contacts.
• Use outdoor lights to prevent anyone from approaching the front door. Outdoor lights with automatic timers to turn them on increase visibility and limit dark spaces that intruders love to hide in.
• Keep your home well-maintained. “Maintaining a certain degree of upkeep will give the appearance that your home is safely secure from any potential intruders, explains MBRG.
• MBRG says you should add security signs and window decals to keep your home safe and secure. Remove flyers from your doorstep and secure them in windows or conditioners to stop becoming a prime target.
• Taking trash to the curb and bringing them back when emptied is also important. Things like ladders and tools should also be secured, and you should think carefully about maintaining a neat landscape. Burglars often look for homes that are easier to break into and lack many security updates.

Final Thoughts

Removing the “old house key” hidden under the front door mat or pot plant is key to home security. Every burglar knows about hidden household keys!

 If you feel that your home may be at risk or have been a victim of a break-in, take the necessary steps and contact Locksmith United for lock maintenance services to stop a break-into your home. 

Keeping an eye on security even during a remodel of a smart home with remote monitoring and a home alarm via a keypad helps make your home difficult to enter.