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You just wanted to quickly get the groceries out of the car or empty the mailbox and that’s it: the door slams behind you and you notice that the key is inside. Congratulations, you’ve just locked yourself out!
What to do if the Key is Inside
The locksmith does not always have to be called immediately. We’ll provide you with a few tips for emergencies and explain how you can still open the front door.
Everyday objects are used that you either have with you, find in your garbage can, ask neighbors, or temporarily store them in the garden shed or garage.
Use the Duplicate Key
An obvious and very quick way to get back into the house. Leave a spare key with neighbors or friends who you can easily find in an emergency.
Do your friends live far away and you have no contact with the neighbors? No problem! You can safely store your spare key in an external key safe.
Please never “hide” your spare key under the doormat, in a flowerpot, or under a stone near the front door. Burglars know all these hiding spots.
Has the door slammed, the key is inside and you are standing in front of a locked door? Unfortunately, a deposited spare key is only useful if you have a door lock with an emergency and hazard function.
Only with these door cylinders is it possible to open the lock from the outside if there is a key inside. However, you can easily exchange simple door locks for a door cylinder with an emergency and hazard function. We would like to help you!
How to Open the Door with a Plastic Card
This trick only works if the door is closed but not locked with the key. All you need is a plastic card, e.g. a customer card or a piece of laminated paper. Please do not use your bank card for this, as the chip may be scratched when you try to open the door.
Slide the card between the door and the frame. This takes some pressure so the card flexes easily and can grab around the corner. As soon as you feel resistance from the latch, try to push it inwards. It is either 2-3 cm above the door handle or at the immediate height of it.
It may take a few tries for the door to pop open. It’s best to try it out before you’re really in the situation of being locked out. Of course, don’t forget the key!
Open the Door Using a Plastic Bottle
If the door has slammed and is not locked, this trick can also be used to open the door.
You will need a plastic bottle and scissors. Depending on whether there is little or a lot of space between the door and the door frame, the plastic bottle should be as thin as possible.
Cut off the top of the bottle and the bottom of the bottle. The leftover piece is in the shape of a tube. You can now cut through this with a straight line. Depending on whether you have used a small or large bottle, you can start cutting directly or cut the plastic piece in half again.
Push the plastic part between the door and the frame with the bulge towards the door. Find the door latch. This is either above or at the level of the door handle. If you feel the resistance, press the lock latch with the plastic part inwards and pull the door towards you at the same time.
You are welcome to practice this type of door opening at your front door in advance and deposit the plastic part near the front door. This way you can keep a cool head in an emergency.
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Open the Door with a Hot Melt Adhesive
If the key is broken in the cylinder, it might work to remove the broken part from the cylinder.
How does this work? With hot melt adhesive and heat!
With the help of a hot melt adhesive, the casual woman shows how she pulls a broken key out of the door lock. Source: t-online.de / Reuters
Looking for Another Way into the House
Before you go to the trouble of fiddling with a piece of plastic on the door, first check if you can find another way into the house. Did you leave the patio door or a window open?
In this case, too, there is a terrifyingly quick fix. You will need a roll of paper or some other tubular object that the window handle fits and a long piece of string or tear-resistant thread.
The string is pulled through the paper roll once. Hold both ends of the string tightly while you maneuver the paper roll through the tilted window and place it on the window handle.
Now make sure that one side of the thread is on the left and the other on the right side of the window. Hold both ends firmly! With a little force, you can now close the window.
Make sure the window is completely closed. Now the left end of the thread can be pulled down until the paper roll including the window handle is horizontal. Press on the glass and the window will open.
If Nothing Helps: Call the Locksmith
You have tested all the tricks, but the door stays closed? Please do not get the idea to go to work with burglary tools such as crowbars. In doing so, you break the door lock and the door and possibly injure yourself.
It’s time to call a locksmith. But find out beforehand about the costs including travel and taxes. It is also a good idea to contact several locksmiths in your area to be able to compare prices.
So That You Don’t Get into This Situation in the First Place
If you just want to get something out of the car lockout quickly, run to the mailbox or have a chat with the passing neighbor, we advise you to stick a wedge in the door. That way, it can’t accidentally fall shut and you save the fuss of being locked out.
Open the Door Lock Without a Key – Do it Yourself
As you can see, it is amazingly easy to get back into your house or apartment when you’ve locked yourself up. We hope that you are now prepared in case the door accidentally slams shut.
The tricks for opening doors without a key also show that you should definitely lock when leaving the house. And check beforehand that all windows are closed!
