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If you’ve ever found your car door locks frozen during winter, you know how inconvenient and even dangerous being locked out in the bitter cold can be. Thankfully, A-Tri-County Lock provides professional mobile lockout services for drivers, so they’re never stranded for long. You can also keep yourself safe by knowing how to prepare when a frozen car door lock arises, as the expert locksmiths outline below.

How to Handle Frozen Car Door Locks

door-locksSpray De-Icer or Add Vaseline

De-icer is the easiest way to unfreeze your lock. Be proactive and keep a can in your car trunk or at home in case the temperatures dip. If you’re in trouble, you can also cover your key in petroleum jelly or vaseline. Once coated, put it in the lock and wiggle around. Be careful not to force the key to prevent it from breaking. 

Heat Your Car Keys 

Not everyone has de-icer or vaseline in a pinch. If you have a match or a lighter, you can heat your car key to use for your lock. Once the key is heated, place it into your driver’s side lock and wait for a moment for the heat to melt the ice. If the lock doesn’t defrost immediately, you may have to try again to make sure all ice is melted. 

Use a Blow Dryer 

If heating your car key doesn’t work, or you don’t have de-icer with you, try another strategy. A nearby friend or neighbor’s blow dryer and an extension cord will help to defrost your lock. Put the dryer on its highest setting and blast away. Since the heat won’t be directly in contact with the lock this time, it may take a few minutes for the lock to budge. Be patient and the lock should loosen up. 

With the tips above, you can help yourself during a lockout. However, if your car door locks freeze in Akron, Canton, or Cleveland and you need some help, visit A-Tri-County Lock for the phone number that corresponds to your service area on their website. For lockout and safety tips, follow them on Twitter

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