Short answer: Most "broken" locks aren't actually broken — they're neglected. A few minutes of upkeep twice a year prevents the sticky, grinding failures that turn into a lockout.
Most "broken" locks aren't actually broken — they're neglected. A few minutes of upkeep twice a year prevents the sticky, grinding failures that turn into a lockout.
Lubricate the right way (skip the WD-40)
The most common maintenance mistake is spraying an oil-based lubricant like WD-40 into a pinned lock cylinder. It frees things up for a week, then the oil attracts dust and grit and eventually gums the pins into a sticky paste. For lock cylinders, use a dry lubricant instead — powdered graphite or a PTFE/Teflon-based dry spray — which lubricates without holding onto grime. A small puff into the keyway, then working the key in and out a few times and wiping the blade, is usually all it takes. Do the deadbolt and the latch a couple of times a year, plus any lock that has started to feel gritty, slow, or reluctant to turn.
Fix alignment before it becomes a lockout
A lock you have to lift, shove, or jiggle to turn is almost always an alignment problem, not a lock problem — and it only gets worse. Over time, doors settle and hinges loosen, so the deadbolt no longer lines up cleanly with the hole in the strike plate. Check that your deadbolt throws fully and smoothly with the door closed, without you having to pull the door tight against the frame. If it binds, tighten the hinge screws first, since a loose top hinge lets the whole door sag, then look at whether the bolt is scraping the top or bottom edge of the strike opening. Catching this early is the difference between a two-minute adjustment and a snapped key inside a jammed lock on a night you needed to get inside.
Watch your keys and your screws
Two small things quietly cause big failures. First, keys wear out: a worn or bent key slowly chews at the pins inside the cylinder, so once a key looks rounded or feels hard to turn, cut a fresh copy from the original — not a copy of a copy, which compounds the wear. Second, screws back themselves out over time. Once or twice a year, snug up the set screws on your knobs and levers and the mounting screws on the strike plate. While you're there, consider swapping the short strike-plate screws for 3-inch screws that reach the wall framing behind the jamb — it costs almost nothing and dramatically improves how well the door resists being kicked in, one of the rare cases where routine maintenance doubles as a security upgrade.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lubricate the right way (skip the WD-40)?
The most common maintenance mistake is spraying an oil-based lubricant like WD-40 into a pinned lock cylinder. It frees things up for a week, then the oil attracts dust and grit and eventually gums the pins into a sticky paste. For lock cylinders, use a dry lubricant instead — powdered graphite or a PTFE/Teflon-based dry spray — which lubricates without holding onto grime. A small puff into the keyway, then working the key in and out a few times and wiping the blade, is usually all it takes. Do the deadbolt and the latch a couple of times a year, plus any lock that has started to feel gritty, slow, or reluctant to turn.
Fix alignment before it becomes a lockout?
A lock you have to lift, shove, or jiggle to turn is almost always an alignment problem, not a lock problem — and it only gets worse. Over time, doors settle and hinges loosen, so the deadbolt no longer lines up cleanly with the hole in the strike plate. Check that your deadbolt throws fully and smoothly with the door closed, without you having to pull the door tight against the frame. If it binds, tighten the hinge screws first, since a loose top hinge lets the whole door sag, then look at whether the bolt is scraping the top or bottom edge of the strike opening. Catching this early is the difference between a two-minute adjustment and a snapped key inside a jammed lock on a night you needed to get inside.
Watch your keys and your screws?
Two small things quietly cause big failures. First, keys wear out: a worn or bent key slowly chews at the pins inside the cylinder, so once a key looks rounded or feels hard to turn, cut a fresh copy from the original — not a copy of a copy, which compounds the wear. Second, screws back themselves out over time. Once or twice a year, snug up the set screws on your knobs and levers and the mounting screws on the strike plate. While you're there, consider swapping the short strike-plate screws for 3-inch screws that reach the wall framing behind the jamb — it costs almost nothing and dramatically improves how well the door resists being kicked in, one of the rare cases where routine maintenance doubles as a security upgrade.
How do I get help with this?
Call (877) 315-7116 and describe the situation, your exact location, and what you need. Timing is confirmed on that call rather than promised in advance.
Call for help: (877) 315-7116 — a straight answer and an honest estimate before any work begins.