black front door with lock

Lock Stuck? Open Your Door Safely with These Three Tips

A jammed lock is more than just an annoyance. It can mean standing on the front doorstep, whether at home or at work, for a long time. It can mean missed appointments, missed phone calls and even missed workdays. In some cases, it can put you, your family or your coworkers in danger.

There are many causes for a stuck lock, and they might include extreme weather conditions, corrosion in the form of rust, or old and faulty keys that might break and get stuck in the lock.

The following are some common causes for stuck locks, and some remedies.

Is the key correct?

It may sound a bit silly, but locksmiths attending to “stuck” locks often find that someone’s been attempting to open a lock with the wrong key. Before you try and jam the key into the lock again, be sure you’re using the right key or, if possible, try someone else’s key.

Is the lock frozen?

In winter when temps go below freezing, keys may not work until the lock is warmed to a certain temperature. Try breathing on the key or aiming a warm stream from a hairdryer at it, and attempt to open the lock once more.

Does the lock need lubrication?

Use a silicone thread lubricant you can find at a hardware store to try and moisten the jammed lock, which should make it easier to insert the key. You may also wish to try putting a small dot of graphite in the keyhole if you still can’t get the key in. Important tip: once you’ve applied graphite to the key, try to open the jammed lock several times so the graphite has a chance to work properly.

Call a Professional Locksmith Service

If you still can’t get the lock open, or if the key breaks in the lock, you’ll need to call a professional locksmith. We serve Connecticut and Westchester County, New York residential, commercial and automotive customers for emergency lockout services and lock maintenance.

Here are just some of the towns in CT that we serve: Durham, Killingworth, Middletown, Portland – and more.

We are a family-owned and operated locksmith business. We care about every job and offer professional, reliable, fast, and affordable service to the community. For more information, visit our web site or call us at 203-752-1464.

business door lock

Business Security Tips to Protect Building Access

Business owners need to make security a top priority. Threats are everywhere, and being careless can lead to lost money, inventory, or data, as well as injuries to employees or customers. Focusing on your company’s physical security can keep your business and everyone who works there or visits safe.

Restrict and Control Access

If you operate a business that is open to the general public, you need to carefully secure storage rooms, record rooms, and computers containing sensitive information. If you operate a business where customers do not routinely visit and where only employees are generally on-site, you need to control access to the building, and possibly the entire property. Security cameras can help you keep tabs on anyone who enters or tries to enter secured areas.

You can make sure that only authorized personnel enter sensitive areas by providing employees with keyless entry access cards. This system offers several benefits over traditional locks and keys.

With a keyless entry system, you can grant individual employees access to different areas based on their roles in the company. You will have an electronic record of who entered each area and when to help you narrow down a pool of potential suspects if theft or vandalism occurs. In addition, if an electronic keycard is lost or stolen, you can simply deactivate the card instead of replacing locks and issuing all employees new keys. If an employee quits or is fired, you can deactivate that person’s access card in a matter of seconds.

Conduct Routine Training and Periodic Security Reviews

Implementing security procedures is important, but those procedures will only work if employees understand and follow them. Hold regular meetings to discuss potential threats, procedures that are currently in place, the reasons for them, and penalties if they are not followed. Encourage employees to report any suspicious activity they notice.

You should routinely review your access control procedures and figure out if they are as effective as they could be. Sometimes circumstances and needs change. For example, if you hire more people or reorganize internally, you may need to reconfigure your access control measures to keep vital areas secure. If you become aware of a security threat, you may need to implement new procedures. Technology may advance and new products may become available that could make your business more secure.

Install a Keyless Entry System

Keyless entry is one of the best ways to control access to your business. With electronic cards, you can control who has access to each area and know who entered each building or room and when. All American Locksmiths can install a keyless entry system at your Connecticut or New York business to keep your employees, customers, property, and data safe. Contact us today to learn more or to schedule an installation.

SECURITY

Keyless Entry Systems Are an Important Element of Modern Building Security

As schools and government buildings update their security procedures to prevent unwanted intruders from gaining access, so too should businesses think about whether their security procedures are outdated. One way to modernize building security is by installing keyless entry technology.

What is a Keyless Entry System?

Keyless entry into a building is the safest, most secure way to control access to a building or to important restricted areas. Traditional keys or keypads offer entry to anyone who can copy a key or learn the access codes. (And employees can’t always be relied upon to not share either keys or entry codes with family members, friends, ex-coworkers or others.)

Any business, industry or another enterprise with a building that houses offices, inventory, supplies, documents and more can benefit from a modern keyless entry system. Each controlled access system can be designed for a specific company or organization’s individual needs and requirements.

How Are Keyless Entry Systems Safer?

Because keyless entry systems do not utilize a key, unwanted visitors cannot use a bump key to access your business property. In addition, these systems are ideal for any business that needs to—or wishes to—monitor those that enter the premises. It shows proof of what time as well since they use electronic codes, cards, or key fobs that can record entry data. Because these systems are programmable from within your business, you also have the capability of denying access to specific persons without having to purchase a new system or even change the locks each time.

The software interface with a keyless entry system can be designed to automatically lock and unlock doors based on a time system, restricting access to only employees who should be there at that time. You can use the software to set alerts for irregularities and run reports later about who accessed the building and when.

Call a Professional Locksmith Service

In Connecticut and Westchester County, New York, All American Locksmiths provides residential, commercial and automotive services for customers of all types, including the installation of keyless entry systems. We are a family-owned and operated locksmith business; we care about every job and offer professional, reliable, fast, and affordable service to the community. For more information, contact us today!