We locked ourselves out of the house - thinking of getting a key safe

Errata

azzabazza wrote: »

I have just had a keysafe fitted at my mother's house on the advice of her carers. The care agency say that they have had no instances of keysafes being broken into or removed from the wall. It provides peace of mind knowing the carers can gain access should my mother be unable to get to the front door.

Edited to say it will only work, of course, if Mum doesn't leave her key in the lock!

That may be so, but a keysafe in plain sight is a message that a vulnerable person lives in the house. Not a good thing to advertise.

Torry_Quine

We have a key safe and its very handy to know that its there if ever locked out. It was originally fitted for carers for the elderly relative who used to live here. Before that the key was under a stone on the window sill so not very safe.

Always have the door locked when in the house.

Mojisola

Errata wrote: »

That may be so, but a keysafe in plain sight is a message that a vulnerable person lives in the house. Not a good thing to advertise.

This was something that concerned us but, with different carers needing to get in the house at different times, it became essential.

We were able to position it behind a drainpipe so it is fairly discreet - accessible without being too obvious.

worried_jim

I have a spare key buried in the garden in a small Tupperware box.

mum2one

We have a keysafe simialar to the one in post 2, we paid £50 including fitted, ours was done from recomendation from OT, as in case of emergency, say I have an asthma attack or anaphylixis attack or my mum falls then if no-one else is in the house then we give the number to the the 999 operator, - there good for anyone who keeps different times or loses a key, xx

Errata

worried_jim wrote: »

I have a spare key buried in the garden in a small Tupperware box.

Me too, and my spare car key is with it.

daska

I realise you've already purchased a safe but I thought I'd mention the advice I was given by Anchor Staying Put who used to be the branch of the national charity which provided a handyman service for elderly and vulnerable people living independently.

Anchor offered a choice of the button and wheel safes. At first I thought the button one looked far superior, until it was explained that the model they were allowed to offer had the following 'features':
A - you only needed to remember the 4 digits, it didn't matter what order they were pressed
B - if in regular use the surface became dirty/shiny indicating which four digits were in use.
So, if you have a push button safe please check whether yours has these features and, if it does, make sure you change the code frequently enough to avoid them being a security risk.

(I have a wheel one because it's in use at least twice a day and there are quite a few people who need to know the code.)

newcook

I’d never really given much thought about this but its quite a good idea! Even for things such as if you have an accident in your house then people can still gain access without having to smash anything!

At the minute, me and my housemate have 2 spare keys – one with her mom and one with mine. I also have spare keys to my moms house so even if she’s out or away I can still get my spare keys.

Mojisola

bryanb wrote: »

Be aware that the combinations on these key safes are not as secure as people think. You can put in the digits in any order and the safe will open. Therefore there are only a few hundred possible combinations.

Errata wrote: »

That may be so, but a keysafe in plain sight is a message that a vulnerable person lives in the house. Not a good thing to advertise.

daska wrote: »

I realise you've already purchased a safe but I thought I'd mention the advice I was given by Anchor Staying Put who used to be the branch of the national charity which provided a handyman service for elderly and vulnerable people living independently.

Anchor offered a choice of the button and wheel safes. At first I thought the button one looked far superior, until it was explained that the model they were allowed to offer had the following 'features':
A - you only needed to remember the 4 digits, it didn't matter what order they were pressed
B - if in regular use the surface became dirty/shiny indicating which four digits were in use.
So, if you have a push button safe please check whether yours has these features and, if it does, make sure you change the code frequently enough to avoid them being a security risk.

(I have a wheel one because it's in use at least twice a day and there are quite a few people who need to know the code.)

These were all things we discussed before getting one for my parents.

Should we put the keysafe out in plain sight where it would be easy for the carers to use, especially in the evenings when it's dark, but which would tell anyone passing by that vulnerable people lived in the house?

Should we hide it down the side alley where it wouldn't be so obvious but, if someone wanted to spend the time trying loads of different combinations, they wouldn't be noticed?

Should we get a push button one where, unless the combination is frequently changed, the regularly used buttons will show up? If you have a lot of different carers coming, changing the combination can cause problems.

The one we chose lets us set a six digit combination which is a bit more secure and it has small rods that get pushed in so it's not so obvious which numbers/letters are being used.

Gloomendoom

My gran used to hang her front door key on a string that she could reach through the letterbox.

As far as I remember, she never locked herself out.