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Going on a Trip? How to Stay Safe and Vigilant While Traveling Alone

Going on a Trip? How to Stay Safe and Vigilant While Traveling Alone

Travel Ready

Traveling alone, whether it be for business or pleasure, can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially when it comes to protecting the things that matter most: your belongings and your personal safety. Having your mind occupied with constant worry about your general well-being is no way to travel, so take some safety tips from your local friendly locksmiths.

planning

Research, Research, Research

Doing your research prior to taking a trip is always a smart move, but looking into where you’ll be staying and exploring the surrounding areas is that much more important if you’re planning on traveling by yourself.

This doesn’t just mean finding a good restaurant to grab dinner, or looking into museums and tourist spots. Find the nearest convenience store, subway station, bus stop, or gas station. To take it a step further, you can locate the nearest emergency departments to be even more prepared in case of an unexpected event or emergency.

Open Public Spaces

Do Your Best To Blend In

Common tourist destinations are like carnivals to pickpockets and other petty criminals. Looking out of place or lost in a big, crowded city can make you vulnerable to being approached or becoming a victim of one of these people.

There are several ways to avoid this problem, but they all boil down to the same concept: not drawing attention to yourself. Dressing as close to the local style as possible, or wearing inconspicuous clothing in general, is the easiest first step. There are also several clothing items and accessories you can invest in that will give you an added layer of protection, such as anti-theft wallets, jackets, and backpacks.

If you do get lost or need some help orienting yourself, it is vital to be discreet when looking at maps or asking for directions. Having confidence and an unassuming look will get you a long way when you’re alone in a foreign place.

Traveling Passport & Wallet

Keep Track of Money and Important Documents

Losing your wallet or a major document is the fastest way to ruin your trip, and can cause immense stress, especially if you are in a foreign country. Making copies of documents such as passports, boarding passes, and tickets to events or tourist attractions can ease your mind and give you some time to truly unwind and enjoy your vacation. You could also consider taking advantage of the power of the Internet by storing all of your documents on the cloud.

In terms of money, there are several ways to ensure that you’ll be good to go when purchasing local food or some silly souvenirs for your friends and family back home. Aside from investing in an aforementioned anti-theft wallet, you can also take precautionary measures upon your arrival at your destination by utilizing the currency exchange at the airport. This means less conversion math and more fun for you!

Travel Responsibly

Your safety is of utmost importance to us, so giving you tips and tricks on how to be wise and confident while traveling is too! Keeping your home and family safe while you’re away, well, that’s our job.

Finding yourself in need of locksmithing services? No matter where you are, Pop-A-Lock is glad to help. Give us a call today!

The Secrets You Need to Know About Hiding Spare Keys

The Secrets You Need to Know About Hiding Spare Keys

spare key outside home

While no one plans on getting locked out of their homes, this unfortunate situation is always a possibility. As such, having a spare key can come in handy, allowing you to skip the panic and hassle of calling a locksmith. But with this added security comes added risk, especially if you plan on hiding  your spare outside your residence. With some careful planning, however, you can rest assured that your spare key is kept secret, and you’ll always have a fail-safe way to enter your home. 

Why Spare Keys Help

You never know what could happen in the course of a day. Like any other object, your keys can break, get lost, or — in the worst case — stolen. Whatever the reason, should your keys go missing, it’s great to have a spare set you can easily access to let yourself in. Unfortunately, if you plan on stashing your key somewhere on your property,  burglars and other ne’er do wells now have a way to enter your home too. This raises an important question: where should you hide your spare so only you can find it?

spare key

Don't Be Dumb

If you’ve seen that old key-in-a-plastic-rock routine, so have burglars. Yes, they also know about other spare key hotspots like door-ledges, mailboxes, and  porch lights. Leaving your spare keys in obvious spaces leaves you vulnerable to robbery, so if you’re going to outsmart a crook, you’ll need to look beyond doormats and flowerpots, and on to less-likely stash spots.

Clever Places to Hide Your Spare

  1. Disguise it: While fake rocks are cliche and obvious, fear not: you can still hide your key on your property through an assortment of discreet and innovative key-holders disguised as common lawn equipment. Typically found online, these containers include fake drain caps, lawn sprinklers, and even mock electrical outlets. They’re easy to overlook, and would draw quite a lot of suspicion to anyone trying to snoop them out.  
  2. Get experimental: You don’t need to drop money on fake-out key holders to find ingenious hiding spots on your property. This can include any number of places. If you’re confident in your memory, you can stash your key in an empty bottle, bury it in your lawn, and mark the location using a rock that’s unlikely to move. Your door knocker can work too if you glue a magnet to the back and leave enough space to slip your key under. You can even tuck it away in the doghouse. Anything goes, really, as long as you’re thinking of places you’d never look, and then finding ways to store your key there. 
  3. Lockboxes: This may be an obvious method, but it’s perhaps the most secure. Lockboxes are small containers that can only be opened through punching in a code. Real estate agents often attach lockboxes to doorknobs, but you’re better than that. Rather than hanging your container out in the open for all to see, consider stashing it away under a bush, or burying it in a marked spot in your garden.  
  4. Go high: Often, it’s best to keep your spare key someplace out of reach, whether tucked away in a birdhouse, nailed to an inconspicuous part of a tree, or in a noisy bunch of windchimes. It will take a greater deal of effort to retrieve your key from these perches, but it’ll be even more difficult for a thief who doesn’t want to draw attention to themselves. 
  5. Phone a friend: The above methods might be clever, but nothing beats the security of knowing that a close pal has your back. If you have a trusted neighbor or a friend who lives nearby, you can ask them to hold on to your spare, and drop it off to you in case you get locked out. Additionally, if an emergency happens while you’re away, your neighbors would now have a way to enter your home to help mitigate the problem. 
House keys

Your Safety is Our Priority

Everyone deserves to feel secure in their homes, and Pop-A-Lock believes in informing homeowners of any and all measures they can take to ensure their safety. Hiding a spare key is a good first-step, but if you’re in need of a little extra reassurance, call to speak with one of our expert locksmiths, or check out our website to learn more about our rekeying, lock repair, and installation services.

Smart Security Systems Tips and Tricks

home safely locked

Smart Security Systems Tips and Tricks

For those of us who are chronically online, stumbling across a “lifehack” post with a simple trick that shatters our version of reality — like finding out you can chill wine with, get this, frozen wine — is just part of a normal afternoon. And while these tips are nothing short of fascinating, they rarely have much to do with the bigger questions of adult life, such as your home’s security. 

Here, we’ll cover several mind-blowing (and simple!) life hacks to help you get the most from your home’s smart security systems. 

How To Have The Safest Home Alarm System

Today’s home alarms aren’t the simple beeper-systems of our parents; in fact, most come tricked out with motion detectors, video monitors, and activity programmers — some can even sync to your home’s thermostat. Not only can today’s alarm systems alert you to unauthorized entry in record time: they can also help you stay alert to any and all activity in your home. 

Here are several hacks to get the most out of your smart alarm system: 

  • Check-in: If your home alarm system has video-monitoring capabilities, use them to check-up on your household’s daily activities. Whether this includes keeping a look-out for dessert thieves s or watching your cat’s daily shenanigans, these cameras can do a lot more than simply monitoring for thieves. 
  • Save on your energy bill: Some alarm systems either sync to your thermostat or control your home’s temperature directly. If this is the case for you, be sure to make the most of your alarm’s remote access by reducing the temperature or turning off lights when you’re not home. 
  • Prevent water damage: In addition to temperature controls, some smart alarm systems monitor changing internal conditions, going so far as to sensing excess moisture and turning off the water if a leak is detected. To keep an eye on your pipes, simply place a sensor under your sink or in your crawlspace. If a leak is detected, you’ll be notified immediately. 
  • Install a smart lock: Even though your alarm system is immediately triggered when a door opens, you don’t want thieves to simply waltz in and run the clock until the police arrive. Your first line of defense is always a firmly locked door, but even this evades us at times. If you find yourself frequently forgetting to lock your door, it might be time to invest in a smart lock you can control remotely. After all, we’re only human. 
  • Keep your lawn clean: An additional way you can ease the burden on your alarm system is by keeping your lawn tidy. Burglars are always on the look-out for additional cover and signs that a home is sitting vacant. Typically, unkempt lawns indicate that you’ve been gone for an extended period, making it obvious that your home is unguarded. Overgrown hedges and tall grass also make for perfect cover, as thieves can easily duck out of sight or shield their presence as they break-in. Though messy lawns are eye-sores for the whole neighborhood, nothing is more attractive to a thief.
smart phone locking

Safety Tips To Minimize Everyday Risks

No matter how advanced your home’s complete security system is, there are always steps you can take to optimize its efficiency and minimize risks. These tricks include:

  • Updating your interior locks: Even the most advanced internal security systems are nothing without the presence of a good lock. As such, it helps to semi-frequently update your external locks to prevent weathering and stay abreast of current security trends. 
  • Installing motion lights: Even thieves are gullible to a good jump scare. Using outdoor, motion-activated floodlights can serve to back-up any outdoor security cameras, both providing some much-needed visibility and scaring away intruders. 
  • Having a guard dog: This might seem a little barbarian, but having a loud, imposing dog in addition to your home’s security system can actually help deter thieves. According to a survey, 34% of convicted burglars stated that hearing or seeing a dog would turn them away from a home they were considering breaking into. But be warned — dogs require a lot of care, so buying one for security purposes alone is never a good idea. That being said, these watchful guards make for loving pets.

Using a high-security safe: Should your home — heaven forbid — be broken into, having a secure safe stored away someplace nondescript can mean the difference between minor external damage to losing thousands of dollars worth of valuables.

cctv security camera

Tips On Keeping Your Home Safe While Away

One additional component of “lifehacking” your home’s security involves staying safe while away using smart technology. If you’re planning on being away from home for an extended period, it’s important to stage your home to look as if it’s being actively lived-in, or at least make your security system visible on the outside. This will deter potential thieves who scour neighborhoods for vulnerable-looking homes. Here are several ways to avoid being noticed:

  • Use lights with randomized, automatic timers
  • Install outside cameras that sync to your existing security system
  • Don’t let your mail or packages pile up outside 
  • Refrain from posting your whereabouts on social media, especially if your handle includes your real name 
  • Have Amazon’s Alexa play a randomized burglar prevention soundtrack, or make dog noises while you’re away (what can’t she do?) 
outdoor lighting

Stay Secure with Pop-A-Lock

If you’re still on the fence about improving your home’s security measures, let Pop-A-Lock  clear up your doubts with our residential security audit. We’ll scour your property in search of security blindspots, and advise you on how to beef up your defenses. Or, if you want to evaluate it for yourself, download our free home security audit checklist today!

How A Key Gets Stuck In The Ignition and What This Means for You

How A Key Gets Stuck In The Ignition and What This Means for You

Key stress

Cars  are our main mode of transportation, which makes it that much more stressful when something is wrong with our precious vehicles. This is particularly true when you run into a problem, such as your key getting stuck in the ignition, and don’t know who to call, let alone how to fix it yourself.

key stress phone call

Turn Your Car Off Properly

Oftentimes, especially when you’re in a hurry, it’s very easy to miss crucial steps to turn your car off. Many automatic transmission vehicles come with a safety feature that prevents the driver from removing the key from the ignition when the car is not in park or neutral. Before trying anything else, make sure to check that your shifter  is in one of these two positions.

Another reason your key might be stuck in the ignition is because you did not properly turn the car itself off. In order to turn the vehicle off, the key must be turned all the way into the lock position (in most cars, this means all the way down). If your key is not coming out of the ignition, try turning the car on again and turning it off properly before attempting to forcefully yank the key out.

stuck key in ignition

Keyhole Obstructions

Once you have ascertained that your car is in the proper gear, it’s time to move onto the next reason why your key may be stuck: dirt, dust, or other particles blocking your key from being removed from the keyhole. It is very possible that debris has gotten into the keyhole, but it is not something to worry about. To get your key out, you have 3 options:

  • Spray WD40 into the keyhole to loosen up the dirt that may be obstructing the hole.
  • Gently wiggle the key back and forth, which should also loosen up any debris that may be blocking the keyway.
  • Call a locksmith for professional help if neither of the above options are possible or working.
cleaning your dashboard

Steering Wheel Locked

If your key is stuck in the ignition and you find that your car’s steering wheel is also locked in place, it is possible that you  have inserted the wrong key. Locking the steering wheel is a safety feature on most vehicles that is present in case the incorrect key is inserted. Fixing this is the simple process of turning the steering wheel slowly to the left and then to the right while applying slight pressure to the key. Once you have enough pressure, you should be able to unlock the steering wheel and remove the key from the slot.

A Broken Key

The worst case scenario in a situation like this is that your key has broken, causing it to be stuck in the ignition. This may happen more often with duplicate keys, as they are weaker than the originals. You have two options when it comes to a broken key:

  •  Use a key extractor tool and attempt to remove the piece of broken key that is stuck in the keyway. If this tool is not available to you in the moment, or if this solution is not working, your best option is to:
  • Call a locksmith. Having an experienced, professional set of hands on the job will be the best bet for you if the key breaks off inside the ignition.

Additionally,  it is always important to pay attention to the general state of your car key before putting it into the ignition. If the key already looks damaged, prone to damage, or is flimsy in any way, it has a higher chance of breaking off inside of the ignition.

A Dead Car Battery

A final reason why you may not be able to remove the key from the ignition is a dead car battery. The fix for this is fairly simple: to check if your battery is in fact dead, try turning on your headlights or turn signals. If these are not working, your car battery is most likely dead. Once you have ascertained that this is the case, simply jump-starting your car will allow you to remove the key from the ignition keyway.

Conclusion

Though having a key lodged in the ignition is not an ideal situation, it is important to remember that there is always someone or something out there that can help you. Whether it be a friend jump-starting your car for you, a key extractor tool, or WD40, you will find a way out of this situation. And if you find yourself needing extra help, Pop-A-Lock’s trusted, certified locksmiths are here for you and ready to do so.

My Key Is Stuck In The Lock, What Do I Do Now?

For almost all of us, keys are vital to our everyday lives. They are essential instruments that allow us to gain or prevent entrance to our homes and offices, how we operate our vehicles, and how we keep our possessions secure. What happens then, when the keys you depend on so much fail to let you in, or get stuck in a lock? It happens more than you think, and it can happen in your car, home, or office.

Key Stuck in Lock

Fortunately, Pop-A-Lock is there for you when it happens. You can give us a call, and we can help you avoid damaging your door lock or vehicle ignition when trying to retrieve your key.

To better help you understand how keys get stuck and what you should do when it happens, we’ve included some helpful information below.

Key stuck in Car Lock

How Keys Get Stuck in the Ignition

There are a few main reasons a key may get stuck in a car ignition: problems with related components of the vehicle, issues with the key itself, or issues with the ignition lock cylinder.

1. Transmission gear selector is not in park. An automatic transmission is designed so that you cannot remove your key unless the car is in park. If your key gets stuck in your ignition, there may be a chance that you didn’t shift entirely into park when you turned off the car. If this is the case, there’s an easy fix. Shift into park and remove your key!

2. Dead battery. If there is no power running through the electronic ignition system in your vehicle, it may fail to release your key. A quick way to determine if you have a battery problem is to open your car door and see if your inside lights come on. If they don’t, a battery issue may be to blame, and your local Pop-A-Lock will be able to diagnose, andl likely even fix.

3. If you don’t have a transmission gear selector or battery issue, the issue may be with the key itself. Over time, keys can get dirty, bent, and worn down from daily use. You can also bend your key out of shape if you’ve used it as a tool to open things or for any other reason than it’s designed use.

Gently wiggling the key can sometimes free it, but you don’t want to use excessive force as this can cause much bigger problems.

4. The car’s lock cylinder not operating correctly. Just as the key can get dirty, the inside of the lock mechanism can, too. Debris in the lock mechanism may be prohibiting the key from being released. In this situation, it is best to call an experienced locksmith as wiggling the key too much may further push debris into the lock mechanism, worsening your problem.

Key Stuck in Lock

How Keys Get Stuck in Door Locks

Keys can get stuck in door locks for similar reasons as vehicle ignitions, such as the key being dirty, or the lock mechanism needing lubrication.

Dirty or misshapen keys and lock mechanisms are also common causes of keys getting stuck in door locks. Debris or worn grooves can prohibit the lock pins from sitting properly against the key, which can cause it to get stuck inside the lock. A lack of lubrication can worsen this issue. Lightly jiggling your key while spraying a pump of WD-40 into the keyhole may release it, but if not, don’t resort to breaking windows when experienced locksmiths are available to help you get the key out of the lock without doing any damage.

Call Pop-A-Lock For Key Extraction

There are a multitude of reasons that a key may get stuck in a door lock or an ignition. Fortunately, Pop-A-Lock is there for you, and you don’t have to worry. Our technicians are certified and skilled in key extraction and ignition repair, so you can rest assured that your property is safe in our hands. Visit our website to find the Pop-A-Lock that is closest to you so that you can get your key back as smoothly and quickly as possible.

Pop-A-Lock Fixing Key Stuck in Locks