What's the Key? A Website About Locks and Safes

Is your home as secure as you think it is? There may be an extra key floating out there that you don't know about or have completely forgotten about. Here are some reasons to call a locksmith to rekey the locks to your home.

When You Purchase A New Home

Any time you move into a new home is a good time to change the locks to all the exterior doors. Even though the previous owner handed you all of the keys that they have, you really have no idea if there are extra keys out there. It is best to give yourself peace of mind by simply changing all of the locks to your home.

A locksmith is capable of rekeying the locks, so there is no need to buy a whole new lockset. They can even make every lock use the same key, so you'll limit the amount of keys that you need to have on you to get into your home.

When You Lose Your Keys With identifying Information

If you ever lose your keys, it is likely that whoever finds them won't know what to do with them. After all, they are just keys that look just like anyone else's. However, you'll want to change your locks if your keys have any sort of identifying information as to where you live. For example, if your keys were located in your purse with your driver's license, or if you had a keychain linked to some sort of retail loyalty card that could be used to look up your name and address, this will tell other people exactly where your home is located and where those keys will work.

When You've Lost Track Of Who Has Keys

There will be times when you need to give a key to a professional to get into your home. This includes hiring a dog walker, allowing a plumber in during the day, or even hiring a housekeeping service. It's a good idea to give keys to these people that are marked to not allow duplication. While it is not a foolproof security mechanism, it will stop the average person from going to the local hardware store to copy the key.

Consider changing the locks to your home when you've lost track of who has an extra key. You can never be sure how they have the key marked, since it could have a tag with your name and address on it just waiting to be used by someone with bad intentions.

Contact local locksmith services to come to change your locks if any of these situations apply to you or you're just not sure how secure your house is.