How To Unstick A Locked Door Handle

Simulating opening the door without the latch extending into and retracting out of the strike plate.

How to unstick a locked door handle.

This usually means the barrel is wedged against the jamb. If you can hear squeaking this means that the hinges need to be oiled. More force is needed to turn the knob and unstick the latch. Ensure that the door is unlocked before doing so.

The door latch is not extended before rotating the knob. To figure out how to unstick your door you need to find out what the issue is first. If the lock still feels a little sticky hit it again with a few more blasts of powdered graphite. This can be done with a screwdriver flat or phillips to remove all screws of the door handle s plates.

If all of the doors remain locked the issue may be with the remote lock or a damaged lock itself. Start by removing the door handle. Disclaimer this video was crea. Try lifting on the handle as you turn the key.

Listen to the sound the door makes as you open and close it. Test the lock after each application. The idea here is to remove your door s handle and trying to pull the latch back from within the latch mechanism to get the door open. This is a short video to demonstrate how easy it is to remove a door handle view what s inside and repair the failed latch.

Once the door is open try to actuate the door latch with the handle. A stubborn sticky door lock can definitely be a nuisance. Lubricate the hinges with petroleum jelly. To do this you ll need access to the inside of the door so hopefully you have another way to get into the house.

It can also help to run a piece of heavy stock paper around the door when it s closed. If you can t open one door try another door to see if it opens. It s extremely aggravating to engage in a constant wrestling match with your door lock not only are you stuck outside in the cold but if you re not careful you could either break the key off inside the lock which can make matters much worse or damage the surrounding parts of the door making the entire lockset loose and unsafe. If that doesn t work you re going to have to remove the keyset to expose the lock mechanism to free the barrel.

In most cases when a single door will not open it s due to a broken latch which will require replacement. The culprit could be just a loose part of the lock assembly a sharp burr or ridge on a new key or a bend in an old one.