Secure your home with quality locks and key control

One of the most important safety items at your home is your exterior door lock. Yet, we find that people neglect this critical component by hiding keys in obvious spots, not knowing who has keys to their house, and by using poor quality locks. But, there is hope! There are easy solutions that can help make your home more secure!

Do you have a key under a door mat, rock, or plant? Too many homeowners hide a spare key in an obvious spot. Instead of trying to find some great spot to hide a key, a simple solution is to use a key lockbox that you can easily secure mount on a wall or to the handle of an exterior door. Realtors often use these. With the lockbox, you do not have to hide your keys and you will not forget where you hid them! ADS sells the door hanging or mountable lockboxes for around $50. You might be able to find them at your home improvement store.

A second problem is that too many people have keys to a home. When you purchase your home, there is no telling how many people have a key that can unlock your doors. If you did not change the locks, you never established key control. Also, if you have lost keys or given copies to neighbors over the years, you may lost key control. A simple way to establish key security is to have your home locks re-keyed. Re-keying ensures a fresh start and costs far less than getting entirely new door hardware. Most people can have their locks re-keyed by certified locksmiths for less than $200.

Finally, people too frequently rely on poor quality locks and deadbolts. These inferior locks may be picked, drilled, hammered off, or pried off. It can be easy for an intruder to simply kick the door with a cheap lock. A quality lock will minimize the ease at which a person can forcefully enter through your door. Often these locks utilize longer screws, protective armors, and strategic designs that make it very difficult to quickly or easily gain access to your home

An alarm system is a great security tool. Still, there is no substitute for using quality locks and maintaining key control. You want to make sure that you and only those who you trust have access to your home. If you have never had your locks changed or have doubts about who may have a key to your home, you should correct the issue sooner rather than later. You will be safer and sleep better at night knowing that you have!