Key Hard to Turn or Sticking in the Lock? What to Do

A key that sticks rarely gets better on its own. It starts as a small jiggle you stop noticing, then one cold morning it won't turn at all, or the key comes out bent. The cause is usually one of four things: the key, the door, dirt or the weather, and sometimes the lock itself. Here's how to tell which, and what to do about each.

Is it the key?

Keys wear down the same way locks do, and a key copied from a copy loses a little accuracy each time.

• Try the spare. If the spare turns smoothly, your everyday key is the problem.
• Look at the key. Rounded-off cuts, a bent blade or a crack near the head all mean it's time for a new one.
• Copy from the best key you have, ideally an original, never from the worn one.

Is it the door?

If the key turns easily with the door open but hard with it closed, the lock is fine. The bolt or latch is rubbing on the strike in the frame, and the key is fighting that pressure.

Push or pull on the door while you turn the key. If one of those makes it easier, the door and the strike are out of line, and our guide to a door that won't lock walks through what to check.

Is it dirt?

Dust, grit and old lubricant build up in a cylinder over the years, especially on doors that face the weather. The answer is a lubricant made for locks.

• Use a dry lubricant made for locks, such as powdered graphite or a dry spray labeled for lock cylinders.
• A little goes a long way. A short puff into the keyway, then work the key in and out and turn it a few times.
• Wipe the key clean afterward, so it doesn't carry grime back in.

Is it the weather?

Cold snaps are hard on outside locks. Water gets into the cylinder, freezes, and the key won't go in or won't turn.

• Warm the key in your hand, then try again gently.
• A de-icer made for locks works on a frozen cylinder.
• Once it has thawed, a dry lock lubricant helps keep water from sitting inside.

When it's the lock itself

If the spare sticks too, the door isn't the cause and cleaning didn't help, the cylinder is worn inside. Signs that it's past lubricant:

• The key only turns in one exact position, or has to be pushed or pulled to catch.
• The key goes in but won't come out easily.
• It's getting worse week by week.
• The lock is old and on a door you use many times a day.

That's the point to stop living with it. A worn cylinder can be repaired or swapped out, and a lock that has failed can be replaced. See lock repair and lock replacement, or call us and describe what it's doing.

What to tell us when you call

If it's past what you can do yourself, call us. These details help us understand the lock before we see it:

1. Which door, and whether it's at a house, an apartment or a business.
2. What the key does: sticks going in, drags when it turns, or won't come out.
3. Whether the spare does the same, and whether the door is open or shut when it happens.
4. What you've already tried, especially any spray or oil, so we know what's inside the lock.

Looking after your locks

• Treat outside locks with a dry lubricant once a year, before winter.
• Replace worn keys before they wear the lock.
• Keep heavy key rings off the key you use in the door; the weight pulls on the cylinder every time.
• Have a door that has dropped looked at before it wears the bolt and the strike.