It’s one of the most common scenes in millions of homes: we come home at night, and with the whole family inside, we shut the door, give it a couple of twists, and leave the keys in the lock from the inside. Surely, there are people like me who, even after we’ve done it on arrival, will check that the key is still in the cylinder before going to bed… Those little rituals some of us have.
The thing is that in many cases we do it because we’ve seen it at our parents’ house, and because it gives us a sense of security: with that key left in and turned, no one will be able to enter our home while we sleep. But we regret to tell you that performing this habitual gesture can become a clear mistake.
By turning the key in that way, we think the intruder won’t be able to force the lock and won’t catch us off guard while we sleep. But, as security expert Samuel Prieto of the Instituto Superior de Seguridad Pública warns, closing the door with the key left in is a bad idea that provides a false sense of security.
Leaving the key in the lock, a mistake
In fact, according to the expert, not only does it not protect us but it can be counterproductive for our security due to the lock’s simple latch system that makes a door not able to be opened from the outside if the key is inserted on the other side of the door. “If the person who is sleeping has a medical problem and help arrives, they will find the keys left from the inside and they won’t be able to access.”
You might also find yourself rushing out of the house in the morning and leaving the key stuck in the cylinder on the inside. No matter how many spare keys you have and how hard you try to open it, you won’t succeed. All you’ll be left with is calling a locksmith.
The main problem is that the difficulty of entering the home if the key is left in a latch cylinder will be a burden only for you or your family. Because unfortunately, for would-be thieves it will be no obstacle. Thieves can overcome that small barrier with magnets or with bumping, a technique that uses a nearly master key designed to open most locks and that, when struck with a hammer, manages to alter the pins inside the cylinder. “I’d say that about 80% of the cylinders installed in homes today are vulnerable to impressioning and bumping,” notes the expert.
The expert also points out the benefits of installing a high-end cylinder with a double-cylinder latch: “these kinds of locks typically incorporate extra security features, such as security pins or key detectors,” and at the same time “allow the door to be opened with a key from the outside even if there is a key turned from the inside.”
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