Taking time out of your business schedule to rekey the locks in your home is likely the last thing you want to do. However, there are a number of situations where a homeowner is putting his or her home at a huge risk by not rekeying the locks.

After Moving

Over a period of time, there is no telling how many copies of the key to the home you have just moved into have been made. Keys could have been given to relatives, former roommates, lovers, and family members. Any of those keys could have been lost or copied by someone else. This is why the first thing you should do when you move into a new home is rekey the home. This is true regardless of whether or not the landlord claims to have changed the locks

You Lost The Keys

There is nothing more worrisome than having no idea who has your keys. The last thing you want to do is learn that someone bad found your keys and used them to get into your home. When you cannot find your keys and are not sure where you could have lost them, you need to have the locks rekeyed.

Following a Break-In

Even if the burglar used a window to get into your home or the door was forced open, you should use this as a time to rekey the lock. While this is a much more important measure to take if the burglar used a key to get in the home, it is something you should do regardless for security measures. It also can be helpful just to have the people in your neighborhood see that you are taking additional security measures to protect your home after the break-in.

Why Are You Rekeying Instead of Replacing?

Both replacing a lock and rekeying a lock will achieve the same goal, which is securing your home with a new key. However, replacing the lock system is more expensive than just rekeying it. It is also unnecessary unless the lock system is broken or you are interested in converting to a different lock system.

In addition to all of these situations, it is also just a good idea to get in the habit of rekeying your locks every few years. Even if you and your family is the only people who have lived in the home, you never know who might have gotten ahold of your keys or made a copy. Rekeying the locks every few years in addition to rekeying the locks if any of these situations occur is the best way to protect your home. 

For professional locksmith services, contact a company such as Ottawa Key Shop.