You’re done with a long tough day at work. It was crazy and you wish you’re happy to be home. You can relax and enjoy a relaxing evening.
You say “hi” to your neighbor as you walk to your door. Phew! Once you insert that key in the lock and go in, you’ll feel the tiring weight of the day’s burden fall off your shoulders.
You slip the key into the lock, and there, nothing. It does not turn. It’s okay, just take it out and try again.
The key is stuck in the lock
But it gets tough. The key refuses to come out of the lock. You try to do it a second time, trying to be more delicate. You pull gently, but nothing helps. Stronger, still nothing.
If you don’t pull hard enough, the key may not come out. But pulling too hard may break the key. And in this case, even if you have duplicates of the key, you do not have several locks in order to try the maneuver again from the beginning.
How do you free the key stuck in the gear?
The first idea for most people: take out your smartphone and look for a solution on the internet… and that’s probably how you are on this page.
How to Remove the Stuck Key Yourself
At this time, it is not necessary to call a locksmith yet. A locksmith in Phoenix can help you remove the key from the lock in which it is stuck, of course.
However, before considering this solution, it may be useful to experiment with the following few techniques.
Freeing a stuck key is not necessarily very complicated. All you need is a little patience, ingenuity, and skill.
1. Check to see if someone is home
If your lock allows it, all you have to do is make sure there is someone on the other side of the door. They will be able to put their key on their side. And by turning it in the lock, they will be able to free the key stuck on your side.
2. The key is intact
If no one is at home, nothing is lost.
Since you were delicate, your key stuck in the lock did not break.
Why is your key stuck in the gear? This may be due to the formation of rust along the metal walls inside the lock.
It is therefore necessary to be able to lubricate the walls, and in this kind of situation, you probably have what you need on hand or in a store nearby.
A penetrating product will therefore be necessary.
All you need to do is apply a greasy product or a non-greasy lubricant that can be applied as a spray.
The procedure is very simple: apply by spraying the lock with lubricant. A little patience will be useful, because you will have to wait about ten minutes for the product to take effect.
Once these few minutes have elapsed, always with delicacy, start turning the key in the lock in order to extract it from the barrel of the lock in which it was stuck.
3. The broken key in the lock
As you tried to pull harder to remove the key from the lock that imprisoned it, you broke the key. You have a piece of it left between your fingers.
This is arguably the worst-case scenario, and the Phoenix locksmith seems to be the only solution.
However, it is still possible to take the situation in hand.
By going to a store, buy strong glue, and put a few drops of the product on the tip remaining in your hand. Stick there on the part of the key stuck in the lock and wait for the glue to take effect.
Once the two parts of the key are glued, gently retry to get it out, even if it means using techniques requiring a lubricant.
In the event that one end of the key comes out of the lock, consider using flat pliers or tweezers to attempt to extract it from the gear. A sufficiently thin hooked metal rod can also do the trick.
Always remember to apply the lubricant.
Once out of this mishap, it will be useful to acquire the ideal tool to get out of such a situation: a key extractor. It is usually sold in several sizes as a kit.
If, despite everything, your key remains irreparably stuck in the lock, you can always call an Alcatraz Lock.