If your door lock is broken, you need to take action and fix the broken lock. You may be wondering if it is possible to ignore the problem and leave the door lock broken. And if you are looking to fix the issue, you need a plan to figure out what is wrong. In order to go about fixing your broken door lock, this is what you need to know.

Can I ignore a broken door lock?

When a lock is not working, it is important to take action. Ignoring an issue with your lock is going to lead to two tragic outcomes. Firstly, if the lock is not allowing the door to shut and or lock, then your security is weakened. 

Locks have to lock, or they are not serving the purpose of protecting your property. Even if the lock is not on your front door, a criminal may try all perimeter doors. Besides the very important factor of your broken lock damaging your overall security, it can also put everyone in the home at a greater risk of physical injury during an emergency. 

Safety is an issue because it is not only important that a lock is able to lock, a door lock also needs to open or a door becomes a wall. However, visitors to the home and desperate people trying to escape the home during an emergency will perceive the door as a door.

The perception of an exit can lead people down paths that leave them trapped. Most people think that a broken door lock can be ignored if it prevents the door from opening, but you are creating a very unnecessary safety risk. 

The negligence of a door not opening is unacceptable. Any lock installed on a door must work, or you need to accept the security and safety issues. As these risks are themselves unacceptable, the only course of action is to fix your broken locks.

How do I find out what is wrong with my door lock?

1. Do It Yourself

The best way to troubleshoot a door lock yourself is to attempt to get the lock to simulate its healthy functional state. By simulate, I mean that it does not need to work as intended, you just need the bolt to retract and extend. You can use the thumbturn, a key, a screwdriver, take the lock off the door and attempt to manipulate it, etc. 

When you find out how to get the lock working, you will have a better idea of what processes are not. Whatever is not working should then be investigated further to determine the exact reason this part of the lock has broken, jammed, etc. This is the best way for most people to go about finding the issue with your broken lock because it does not require prior understanding of how your lock works.

2. Hire A Locksmith

A residential Los Angeles locksmith is perfect for figuring out what is wrong with a broken door lock. When you choose to have a professional look into these types of issues, it is a much better way of knowing that you are on the right track for finding a solution. 

A locksmith in Los Angeles has more experience with broken door locks, so they can diagnose the problem faster, and prescribe a fix much faster. It is easy to go down the wrong path while trying to fix a broken door lock and end up spending time and money attempting to fix a problem you do not have. 

You can take out the guesswork centered around the trouble with your broken door lock and guarantee that the way you go about fixing the lock will address the problem you are experiencing.

How can I fix my broken door lock?

1. Do It Yourself

After you find out what is wrong with your broken door lock, you will have a good idea of what part of the lock is malfunctioning. Most often, there will be no opportunity for lock repair just due to a lack of experience with what it will take, however, cleaning the lock could fix the problem. 

Cleaning involves taking the lock apart, removing rust, polishing, and lubricating the lock. For lock replacement, you can do a full or partial replacement. A partial replacement deals only with taking the malfunctioning parts of a lock and exchanging them. 

The only trouble with a partial replacement is that you must have exactly the right replacement parts that fit your lock. Finding these parts on your own without professional insight can be extremely difficult, and is likely to slow this process down to a crawl.

A full replacement is the easiest solution because it requires almost no understanding of the problem of a broken door lock. With a full replacement, unless the issue not with the lock (ie. the door, door jam, or strike plate is the problem), the broken lock will be fixed by being replaced. It is a simple solution and it is quick.

And although it may seem more expensive than a partial replacement, you need to factor in the cost of your time finding the parts, the risk of not getting the right parts, the chance that what you are replacing is not the issue or is not the whole issue, etc. Don’t look at the cost you can see and assume that is the price you are actually paying.

2. Hire A Locksmith

A locksmith fixing a broken door lock comes hand in hand with an assessment of what is wrong with your broken lock. When you are paying for a locksmith in Los Angeles, you are getting peace of mind that the problem will be solved. Because you are not just paying for parts, you are paying for service, that service can be held to a higher quality.

Know that when a locksmith in Los Angeles fixes a broken door lock, the problem will be solved. Not only will your troubles be over, but the locksmith can find the best solution. That means the one fix for your broken door lock that works for your budget, timeframe, desired use, etc. If you need the best method to fix a door lock that is broken, call a locksmith in Los Angeles.

Closing Advice

You can certainly fix a broken door lock yourself, but no matter who you feel is best equipped to perform the work, the work does need to be done. Every broken lock has to be fixed. When you do not know what is going wrong with the lock, you cannot fix the lock without replacing it. For insight into not only what is wrong, but the best way to fix your broken lock, call a Los Angeles locksmith.