Something as simple and ever-present as the weather can affect our door locks. It’s well known that our moods and habits can be affected by the weather. Who hasn’t felt down and listless during an overcast day? Who doesn’t want to grab a sweater or hoodie when relaxing during a chilly evening? Weather also has an effect on door locks.
This surprises many as they tend to think of locks being practically indestructible; being made of metal, and all. Here in University Park, TX weather can range from very hot summers to cold, brisk winters and even the sturdiest door locks can be affected.
Warm weather
We get some good, hot summers and warm spring weather in our community. Our door frames and locks get used to this temperate weather but then it starts to get cooler and this can cause some door frames to swell. When this happens locks can get stuck. This is because the lock’s bolt has trouble fitting in the swollen door frame and depending on the fit, it can be difficult to open and close the lock.
Cold weather
Those same door frames can contract instead of expanding during colder months. This happens not only here in Texas but everywhere. It can be difficult to turn a key in a lock when the frame has contracted and this often leads to key breakage. Not only is this stressful and time consuming, it can be a bit costly as you now need two locksmith services; key extraction and new keys cut. A short term remedy for this is to simply pull the handle of the door knob firmly thereby re-centering the lock with the door frame, making the key easier to turn and thus reducing the risk of key breakage.
University Park Locksmith 