What to do when you lose your house or car keys?

You’ve got a lot to do today, and very little time to do it. As you reach for your keys, you realize they are not where you assumed you had left them.

A feeling of hysteria starts to set in. What do you do? Without them you can’t drive anywhere, and at this rate you’re going to throw off your entire schedule.

Fortunately, you aren’t alone. Forgetting the whereabouts of keys is quite a frequent offense in many homes. When time is of the essence, it becomes all the more important to find them as quickly as possible. Before declaring them lost and the situation hopeless, take deep breaths and attempt to calm down. Clear your mind and try to recall where you last saw your keys. If you’re sure that they absolutely must be somewhere in the house, begin to retrace steps. Very often when people come home, they haphazardly place their keys wherever they may drop in the flurry to remove coats, mittens and other accessories. Be sure to inspect the areas around doorways, not forgetting to include any and all tables and chairs.

Keys can often end up in places that defy logic, so this should also not be ruled out. Try looking around the inside of your kitchen cupboards, in bathroom medicine cabinets, even inside or on the rims of the toilet, sink or bathtub. Between and under couch cushions, around the TV or other entertainment centers, and under the furniture are also prime spots to inspect. Make sure to check each area as thoroughly as you can manage before moving on.

When all else fails and your keys simply are not anywhere to be found, there is no need to lose sleep at night. Simply pick up the phone and call Northridge Lock And Safe, we are here to help you

Locksmith Northridge  (818) 296-1032

7 Ways to Extract a Key Stuck in Door Lock

It can be very frustrating to leave in the morning and feel your key breaking in the lock just before you head off to work. As a matter of fact, it’s most people’s worst nightmare, especially if you own a home or business.

However, there is no need to worry. We’ve assembled 7 ways to extract your key stuck in door lock without having to call a locksmith right away.

So if you have the time and patience to stick with what we’re about to show you, you’re in luck.

Extracting a key stuck in door lock will depend on a few things: how far it’s lodged in the cylinder, what tools you have on hand, and how much time you ultimately have to solve this problem.

1. Try using your hands first

   • Assuming there’s enough of the key still sticking out of the lock, try and pry it out the best you can.

2. Use a flathead screwdriver to try to pry the key out

   • This method works best when the key isn’t sticking out of the lock.

3. Use Needle Nose Pliers

   • If you have a swiss army knife or something like it on hand, you can use this tool to grip the edges of the broken key and pull it out slowly but surely. You can also use needle nose pliers to turn the lock itself if the key is too hard to extract.

4. Use an Extractor Tool

   • For this method, you will want to first spray the lock with a lubricant to help the key slide out easily. Next, you’ll want to align the cylinder to either a locked or unlocked position. After that, you’ll want to locate the large groove on the side of the key and find the best spot for the extractor tool to fit. Next, insert the proper extractor tool until it hooks the bitting, or the groove, of the key fragment. Then, twist it slightly, and pull. It might take a few times, but once you get used to the motion, the key should come out eventually.

5. Push the key

   • Sometimes, locks have removable cylinders that let you repair the lock mechanism if it’s starting to grind and get old. If this is the case, you can simply push the key out from the back after removing the cylinder from the lock.

6.  Make a Mini Saw Blade

   • Make your own broken key extractor tool by buying a mini jigsaw blade from a nearby hardware store. You’ll want to break off the end of one of these blades so that it will fit into the lock. Make sure to cover up the other end with duct tape or some other adhesive to protect your hand. After the lock is lubricated, insert the saw blade into the cylinder with the teeth facing up. Wiggle it around until you hook one of the grooves on the key. Then twist it just like you would with the extractor tool, and pull the key out. This will take some practice, but be persistent, and your key will rear its pretty head soon enough.

7. Tapping the Lock

   • The key cylinder is just like any other metal object, so you may be able to get the key to fall out of the cylinder by just tapping the lock a few times against the edge of a hard surface. Just make sure to keep the keyhole open so that the key can slide out. Even if it doesn’t come all the way out, you can eventually pull the sucker out with some needle nose pliers as the key is bound to move a bit after a few hits.

Hopefully, you’ve been able to extract your key stuck in door lock by the end of this post. But if you’re still having some trouble, try giving your local locksmith a call. They have the tools and resources needed to get you unstuck fast and save you a ton of time.

Northridge Lock and Safe has a decade of experience extracting locks of all sizes for clients all over the Valley. Therefore, if you are still having problems with your key, don’t hesitate to give us a call right away. We are local and right around the corner from you in most cases. Additionally, we offer affordable prices for the broken key extraction and can meet you at your location in less than 20 minutes. We guarantee you will be 100% satisfied with our work, so call (818) 296-1032 today!

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Locksmith Northridge is the primary emergency, residential, automotive and commercial locksmith company assistance to Northridge and the surrounding areas.  Being fully-insured and bonded qualified specialists, you can rest easy knowing our locksmith experts are regarded as the most honest and dependable.  We supply customers’ quick and professional service no matter of what locksmith services are needed.  When you need us, we are going to be there as fast as achievable no matter the day or time of the week.  We’re accessible 24-hours daily, 7-days a week and 365 days an each year!

Crisis situations take place, and our emergency services you will see are highly regarded!  We industry professionals in all kinds of emergency lock-out services, key cutting, lock repairs, safe combination modifications and replacements, panic hardware and a great deal more services.  So, if you have gotten locked out of your vehicle or house, you don’t need to be concerned, just contact us to assist you.

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Home security and safety is constantly extremely important to us as well as your well being.  Our experienced Northridge residential locksmith technicians can give peace of mind you are deserving of having when it pertains to your home’s security.  Some of the frequent residential locksmith services include; around the clock emergency services, lock changes, take care of lock-outs, car lockout, lock re-keys, fix locks, keys made, access control systems, electronic locks hooked up and maintained, key control systems, high security locks and many other services!  Any single thing pertaining to residential locksmiths, we are available to offer you help!

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Our locksmith technicians are professionals with all makes and models of vehicles.  So, each of your automotive requirements can be made effortless with our specialized Northridge automotive locksmith services.  It doesn’t matter what locksmith services you want to have with your particular make and model automobile, our professional locksmith technicians will be capable of helping you with anything from emergency lock outs, duplicate keys, computer chip key reprogramming, ignitions fixed or swapped, electronic locks installed or repaired, change locks, locks fixed, switch locks, unlock car doors, key removal, transponder keys made, trunks opened or unlocked and a great deal more services!

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It doesn’t matter what you want for your business, we will handle services like; commercial emergency services, access control, keyless entry, lock out situations,  high security locks, lock picking, master system re-keying, door locks, digital locks, door problems, file cabinet and safe locks, door lock installations and many other services!  Locksmith Northridge   is known as the industry leader when it will involve all facets of locksmith services.

Our valued customers are aware that they can take it easy at any time they use our locksmith services.  So, whatever locksmith service you want to have no matter whether it’s residential, automotive or commercial, we are readily available daily, 7-days a week and 365-days a year.  When you will need service, you know who to reach out to!

Locksmith Northridge   (818) 296-1032