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How to Lock a Door With a Rubber Band? – 6 Steps (w/Photos)

Fact checked by Teddy B.Miller

how to lock a door with a rubber band

Having to deal with a broken lock is annoying, especially when you don’t have a spare lock and you have to go outside at night. This compromises your security as well as the safety of you, your family, and your valuables inside your home.

Fortunately for you, there is a temporary fix for your door lock problem that you can try. This trick lies within a certain thing that is almost always available inside your home — a rubber band.

In this article, I will show you how to lock a door with a rubber band.

Step-by-step to Lock a Door With a Rubber Band

Since rubber bands are readily available inside your home and they are elastic enough to hold a certain amount of force, you can place rubber bands on door knobs to temporarily lock them.

Follow these steps on how to put a rubber band on your door knob and lock it:

Step 1: Remove the strike plate

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Take your screwdriver and remove the fittings from your strike plate. Take the strike plate from the door jamb.

Step 2: Insert your rubber band

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Take your rubber band and insert on one side of the screw. Make sure the screw hole is inside the rubber band.

Step 3: Screw the strike plate

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Get your screwdriver again and put back the screws of the strike plate. The screws and the strike plate should hold the rubber band and trap it.

Step 4: Close the door

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Make sure you grab the rubber band before you close. This will let you easily tie it on the door knob.

Step 5: Tie your rubber band.

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Wrap the rubber band on the doorknob and tie it so that it will not come loose. Be careful in stretching the rubber band as it might break if it’s stretched to its limit.

Step 6: Try to open the door.

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Try to open and close your door to ensure that the rubber band around your door lock stays bonded. Make sure there is no space for the door to open and the rubber band should stop the door from opening.

Now you know how to wrap a rubber band around your door lock and secure it.

Other Uses of Rubber Bands

Besides locking a door with a hair tie or rubber band, rubber bands are also used for other purposes. Here are some tricks that you can try with just a rubber band.

1. Secretly keep a door from locking.

You can temporarily disable a door lock by wrapping the door knob from the outside and the door knob from the inside. This is useful when alone, especially when you have to take the groceries from the outside and no one can hold the door for you.

2. Open night latches with an elastic band.

Rubber bands can actually open night latches from the outside. That is why police warn about rubber bands.

Rubber band on door knob crime was also prevalent back in 2016. Citizens claim that someone would wrap rubber bands on front doors so that they can bust through your door as soon as you open it.

Conclusion

Treating security as one of the priorities inside your home creates a secure space for you and your family. Needless to say, a safe environment comes with a healthy lifestyle.

Knowing how to lock a door with a rubber band makes your life a bit easier and less worrisome. However, remember that putting rubber bands over door knobs should only be done for temporary purposes and you should replace or fix your door lock for permanent fix.


Other ways to lock your door:

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