It is not easy to evaluate on your own when the locks at your home and office need to be replaced. We all forget how long they have been in place, and it is easily ignored when they stop working properly or grow weak. It can be something as easy as losing your keys or having them stolen. There are also more significant issues of wear and tear that can eliminate the ability of your locks to keep your home and office secure.

Exterior Doors

First there is the important factor occurring when all keys have been lost or broken. Possibly, if the building has been broken into then it is important to start fresh with all of the exterior locks and keys. This may not be easy, but it could include everything from the doors to windows and the garage, or even more. It is important to remember that someone who has broken into a house or other building it is possible they stole other keys to your shed, cars or other items. At this point nothing is safe inside or outside the house, and it is important to make sure of the potential of replacing ALL locks inside and outside the house. Every lock related to this location will need to be replaced.

Sometimes it is a little simpler in the locks or doors themselves wearing due to weather or just age. After a long period of time it could be wear of the lock or the key meaning that one or both need to be replaced. It is easy for these old locks to have a key break off and then service is much more difficult. Issues like older wood doors swelling up and making the locks harder to use can mean that it is getting close to replacement time. Especially if it seems like the lock will not turn into the wall, it could be time to replace the lock and even the door in order to make sure that it will work more efficiently and effectively.

Interior Doors

As mentioned before, it is essential to change interior door locks if the house or other building has been broken into. It will no longer do any good locking offices, libraries or other rooms if someone has the ability to get into your house and access every ounce of your personal belongings. This also means that they would likely also have access to safes, desk drawers, files and other personal and private information. At this point there is no reason to consider any point of the house untampered with. Thieves are quite capable of sneaking into any portion of your home or office and will be able to find a way back in if every lock is not replaced.

There is also the potential that at some point one of your children or a pet was locked into a room by mistake. Especially if they don’t know how to get out, no matter how hard you try to explain, it means breaking the lock and possibly the door yourself. This could mean a new lock, along with a new doorknob and possibly a new door. I know that I have had this happen to me, when my son was quite young the door was locked when he closed it and he couldn’t figure out how to unlock it and get himself out. We had to break the doorknob and remove the lock in order to get him out of his own bedroom. At that point the entire door needed to be replaced, lock and all, because it couldn’t even be closed anymore.

Desk and Other Drawers

As mentioned before, there is always the chance that every lock in your home has been broken or invaded in some way when a thief has broken in. While there is a great need to replace all of those key items that are visibly missing, it is a good idea to look and see if desk drawers have been invaded, private documents stolen, and possibly dresser or other drawers broken into as well. This could mean that so many things you try to keep safe are not only missing, but when replaced they would not be safe in the future.

With any financial or work papers that you keep in your desk, to family or personal documents like birth certificates and social security cards, it is important to find out if there is any potential risk of lost identity. While you are reporting those incidents, and filing insurance claims, you can make sure that all of those locks are replaced in order to keep new documents secure once again.

Windows

Windows are another set of locks that can wear over time. This may simply be due to weather or age, but there can be more causes. If the window is broken by a thrown rock or ball, there is a chance that the lock would be damaged or bent, making it hard to open in the future. This would mean that there is more than just a need to replace the broken pane of glass, but the entire window and lock itself would need to be replaced.