How Cold Weather Affects Locks

Now that it’s officially Winter, it’s important to understand how cold weather and frigid temperatures can affect your home, business, or vehicles’ locks, and prevent any of the associated damages. By educating yourself of the impact of cold weather on locks, you can ensure that you’re prepared to deal with any occurrences of cold-related lock damage if it occurs, and (hopefully) avoid it from occurring in the first place. Here’s a guide to how cold weather affects locks, as prepared by the lock experts here at Golden Locksmith.

Problems Cold Weather can Pose for Locks

Cold weather can freeze door locks, car locks, garage door locks, and window locks. Cold up can fill up the holes in these locks with a layer of ice that can potentially block the key opening. Metal locks can also contract in cold temperatures, rendering keys that are supposed to work perfectly, unusable, and preventing entry.

Solutions for Cold Weather Related Lock Issues

If frozen locks are filled up with ice, there’s a variety of lubricant sprays that are specifically made to dissolve the clogging ice with a combination of oil fluid and pressurized air. This is a common and usually very effective solution for any sort of lock freezing. You can also preheat the key a bit before placing it in the lock and gently turn it both ways to help thaw any interior ice and allow the lock to release. However, if your locks have been seriously misshaped or contracted due to extremely cold temperatures, you’re better off contacting a team of professional locksmiths like those at Golden Locksmith to provide you with instant solutions.

Preventing Cold Weather Related Lock Issues

You can prevent these issues with locks from occurring through a series of precautionary steps. First, keep your locks oiled regularly. This includes car locks, garage locks, window locks, and door locks. Make sure that your locks don’t get wet – consider installing overhanging barriers over locks to prevent rain, snow, or atmospheric moisture from hitting the locks, where it can then freeze. Consider warming and drying your padlocks if they get wet; simply remove it, dry it from all water or moisture, and warm it to help mitigate the potential effects of freezing.