How Winter Weather Effects Locks

In Philadelphia we have begun to hit the real meat of the winter season and with this has come snow and frigid temperatures. This can have a slight impact on your locks for your home or business as well as automobile. Many people tend to have trouble with stuck locks during the hot summer months when door frames are expanding and they wonder if the cold can also have a similar effect. The answer is yes, while not as common as heat problems the cold can create bad conditions for a door lock especially an exterior door to a residential location.
In the winter time the cold weather forces the lock, door, and door frame to contract this can cause problems for many homes where the lock is not a perfect fit causing the lock to not correctly arm. This problem can be fixed by one of Philadelphia Locksmith’s technicians who are able to refit the lock allowing it to operate correctly at all times whether it is contracting due to the winter freeze or expanding due to the sweltering summer weather.
Another problem that arises when temperatures fall below freezing is that your locks can freeze completely. This is most common on an automotive lock as opposed to a commercial or residential lock. In order to solve this issue one can attempt an easy fix which would be to attempt to defrost your lock by heating your key before inserting it into the lock. While occasionally successful this method can cause damage to the key as well as the lock. Philadelphia Locksmith can also assist with frozen locks without the possibility of expensive damage being done.