Weather can have a damaging effect on your doors, presenting a potential disruption in your home or business security. During the summer months, there are several potential problems caused by the heat and humidity to be aware of.
Wood, metal and plastic doors alike are all at risk of being impacted by the hot weather summer brings. High humidity presents a particularly big risk to wood doors. Humidity can cause excessive moisture and the heat can cause the door to warp. This warping can also occur around the lock, which can result in it becoming difficult to turn the key in the lock, or even cause the key to get stuck in it. Even if the door contracts back, there is a chance it will not properly align with the locking mechanism anymore, putting your home’s security at risk.
Plastic doors are also in danger of expanding in the heat, which results in them becoming difficult to close from expanding too much for their frame. This is a particular risk for doors made with uPVC, which is a lightweight plastic building material. High heat is more likely to cause detrimental damage to doors made of this material, such as softening, deforming and changing its mechanical properties.
Even metal door locks can be affected by the summer weather. With both the risk of their lubrication evaporating and the metal parts expanding, the lock mechanisms can get stuck, making them unusable. Moisture-related rust from humidity can also present a complication for your door and locks operation. Metal doors can also be at risk of thermal bowing, which is caused by there being a vast difference between the temperatures on the two sides of the door. The heated side may start to expand and swell causing it to bow. When the door is bowed, it becomes more difficult to operate the locking hardware on it and even open the door.
The older a lock is, the more susceptible it is to the effects of weather, so if you are nervous your lock is getting too old, it may be time to replace it. It’s also important to note that the hot weather can also affect your keys themselves. If left exposed to heat for too long keys can begin to distort, which can cause them to not fit the lock mechanisms anymore.
If you are struggling to use your locks, make sure to call us at J & J.
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