Maintenance Tips For Residential And Commercial Safes

August 7, 2023

Your safe is a key part of protecting what is yours. Whether your safe contains your most important documents like insurance policies, protects your children from the firearms in your home, or acts as burglary protection, having a working safe is a vital part of your security plan.

However, like any other household appliance or tool, your residential or commercial safe does need regular maintenance. Locks can wear down, seals can fail, and batteries can die. Because of this, safe owners need to follow every maintenance tip they can to ensure the safety of their safe, both for their homes and businesses.

If you are unsure how to secure your safe and ensure it remains working without fail, check out the tips below to learn more about it. If you still have questions or feel more comfortable with a skilled, safe technician for safe installation or inspections, contact our team to learn more about our services and process.

Why Is Safe Maintenance and Service So Important? 

Ensuring your safe is working properly means ensuring your personal items are safe. A safe can keep those memories alive if you have important papers, photos, or valuables you want to protect from robbery or natural disasters.

If you have a gun safe and young children reside in your home, having a gun safe is crucial. Many household accidents that are fatal to children happen because of unsecured firearms. When you ensure that your gun safe is working correctly, you are also protecting your family.

A quality safe protects your assets and money for commercial ventures. A safe can be vital, especially for those concerned about robberies and theft of your finances. The cost of installing a new or used safe may be worthwhile to avoid the process of getting your assets back. 

Signs Your Safe Needs Maintenance 

When you own a safe, you need to ensure that your safe is functioning properly at all times. So how do you know when your safe is not working correctly?

First, check the dial for any play if you have a dial lock, also known as a combination lock. If the dial is loose or wobbles when you twist it, it may be time to repair or replace the combination lock on your safe. You may also notice that you have signs of resistance with your combination, it may be making unusual noises, or your combination is not aligning correctly with the dial. 

Other signs of maintenance needs may include changes to the fire seal around the safe door or minor failures in the electrical system of your safe if you have a safe with an electronic lock.

Maintaining your safe regularly is also a good idea, even if it seems okay. Issues with your safe may not be obvious until something goes wrong and you cannot access it or if it fails to open correctly and needs its lock replaced. Fortunately, our locksmiths offer their services if your safe doors are stuck.

How Often Should a Safe Be Serviced?

The number of times your safe needs to be serviced will depend on how often you use and open your safe. For example, if you use your safe strictly for storage and only open it a few times a year, you may not need as regular maintenance as others. Typically, we still recommend at least annual safe inspections for most cases. 

However, if you have a commercial safe and open it several times daily to deposit funds, it may need more maintenance. That is because the constant opening and closing of your safe wear down the parts of your safe, leaving it in need of repairing or replacing parts. A safe technician has the equipment to install these new parts.

The Environment Can Impact Your Safe

In some cases, the climate your safe is exposed to can impact your needs for safe maintenance. Extreme changes in the temperature can damage your safe and can cause major issues.

For example, if your safe is not waterproof and you are involved in a flood, any items stored in it may not be as protected as you want them to be. Likewise, areas with a high humidity level may cause damage to the firearms you were storing in your safe.

If possible, storing your safe in a controlled environment is best for protecting and protecting the items within the safe. If you are unsure whether the area you are storing your safe will leave your personal items unprotected, contact a safe technician who can give you case-specific answers.

What Not to Do During Safe Maintenance

When performing maintenance on your safe, there are many steps you can take to help maintain your safe and ensure the quality of your safe. However, certain things can impact the ability of your safe to function properly. 

If you are unsure about the steps you were taking for safe maintenance, check out the list of things not to do to your safe below, and reach out to a skilled, safe technician. We are happy to help you keep your safe properly maintained and ensure that it works as well as ever for years.

Do Not Relock Difficult Locks 

Sometimes, during your safe maintenance or safe lock repair, you may have difficulty getting the lock off in the first place. However, it is important not to relock a difficult lock. 

In some cases, if you relock one of these locks, it may be difficult or impossible to open on your own. A safe technician may be needed to remove the lock if it is too difficult for you to get off a second time. Rather than relocking it, leave the safe open and perform maintenance on the lock before you choose to re-lock it. 

Do Not Spray Combination Locks

Sometimes, you may be tempted to spray something inside your combination lock to help clean it out. Many people think that if they are experiencing resistance in their dial lock, the solution is to loosen that resistance with WD-40 or other lubricants in the locking mechanism. 

Unfortunately, spraying lubricants into your combination lock may make it work worse. If your combination lock is not responding well, talk to a safe technician about your options to clean, repair, or replace your lock.

Simple Tips to Check Your Residential or Commercial Safe 

When performing maintenance on a residential or commercial safe, there are certain steps you can take before you ever call a safe technician. These steps can ensure basic safety concerns are being met and that your safe is protected from basic concerns. 

If there are any problems with the following parts of your safe, contact a skilled, safe technician to address these problems. The sooner you repair and secure your safe, the sooner you can return to knowing that your safe protects your prized items.

Make Sure Your Dial Lock Is Centered 

When testing your combination lock, one of the best things you can do is ensure that your lock is aligned. Every lock has a little leeway, and ensuring you have the same amount on either side ensures your lock is aligned and working as it should.

First, put your number into your lock and ensure you add a quarter inch of space above the numbers as you open your lock. On the next opening, ensure you get the same results when adding a quarter inch of space below the numbers. Your lock is aligned if you get the same amount on either side.

Change Your Electronic Lock’s Battery

Any electronics or digital locks can fail over time. You may have an electrical safe to avoid memorizing a combination and instead remember a key code for your safe. Unfortunately, if your keypad fails, you may need a safe technician’s help to open it. 

Because of this, changing your electric safes battery is essential whenever necessary. We typically recommend changing out your electronic safes batteries yearly, but depending on your needs, you may need to change them more or less regularly.

Check Your Fire Seal 

The fire seal on your safe protects the valuable items inside it from a fire emergency. The seal around the interior of your safe’s door protects these items from fire damage. That is why taking a close look during inspections is always essential. 

However, if there is an issue with your fire seal, it can lead to significant damage and can ruin the items inside. Because of this, checking your fire seal regularly as you perform maintenance can help you avoid these problems. If there are any places where the seal does not correctly align with the door, reach out to a safe technician who can repair or replace the seal.

When Do I Need a Safe Technician?

Not all safes have the exact same needs, so annual servicing can depend on the specifics of your safe. However, regular maintenance check services can help you ensure that your safe is operating as intended and protecting your valuables from a break-in or disaster.

You may also think you know how to operate your safe and can do the job yourself. In most cases, for simple maintenance, that may be true. However, detailed repairs may be best left to a professional, safe technician.

For example, if something is wrong with the locking bolts or slip clutch mechanism in your safe, you may need a safe technician to operate your safe and ensure that all bolts and mechanisms are in the right place.

Whether you are looking into installing your own safe re-lock, or are simply planning your annual servicing of your safe, reach out to a safe technician. They can help you avoid installing anything you do not need and can take on any part of your safe inspection, from the overall care to the specific mechanical problems you may have encountered.

Get a Professional, Safe Technician 

A safe, whether you are using it in your home or your business, can be a valuable tool for protecting the things that are most important to you. You may have one-of-a-kind items that need protection, firearms that you want to keep away from your children, or financial items for your business that you want to protect from thieves. 

Unfortunately, any problems with your safe can leave these items vulnerable to damage and theft. Ensuring you take the proper steps for safe maintenance throughout the year can make a big difference. However, in many cases, you may need to contact a safe technician and ensure you take all the proper steps to ensure your safe is secure.

At Beach Locksmith, we provide more than opening your safe, car, or home when locked out. We also ensure that your safe is working as intended. That means you have fewer concerns about lockouts and damage that can affect your safe and should have been protected from. We take care of anything lock related you need.

Contact our team if you want more information about repairing your safe and keeping it in working condition and any information you need about our locksmith services. We can be reached by phone and are prepared to take on your safe maintenance immediately.