Simple, Effective DIY Door Fixes

There are many things that can and will go wrong with the doors in your home. It could a piece of the key brakes off and gets stuck in the keyhole or you simply want to keep your door locks in excellent working order. Whatever the case may be, you can use these simple, yet very effective suggestions to fix these problems. Here are some of the things you can do to keep the doors in your home from becoming major annoyances.

Easy removal of a broken key

This situation happens a lot more than we really care to admit. You have a worn out key that gets stuck in the keyhole and brakes off. What do you do now? The first thing you might think of is to call a locksmith, but you have a better option. If you can't enter your home or apartment through another door, you may have the necessary items to fix this problem in your car or purse. If you don't, you have the option of running over to a neighbor to borrow a few simple items.

First you can try to remove the broken piece with a pair of tweezers. If this doesn't work, get some super glue and apply just a drop to the end of the piece of key that is still on the keychain. Line it up with the piece that is wedged in the keyhole and hold for about thirty to sixty seconds, then you will carefully and slowly pull out the key.

Keep door locks working properly

You might think that using oil in the inner mechanism of a door lock is an excellent idea, but actually it isn't. Believe it or not the oil can actually do more harm than good to a lock. One of the best lubricants to use is graphite, and an excellent source to find this is in pencil lead.

Simply rub a freshly sharpened, soft lead pencil repeatedly against the key to fit the lock, and insert the key into the lock a few times to work the graphite into the lock. You will want to do this simple trick a few times throughout the year to insure the lock will stay in perfect condition. You won't have to worry about the lock getting stuck and you won't have any problems.

These are just a few simple things you can do to fix these common door problems, so next time you come across one of these, you will know what to do.

Sources: Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things book