--- title: "Home After Weeks Away, and the Lock Feels Wrong" description: "A stiff key, fresh scratches round the cylinder, a door that shuts differently. How to tell wear from an attempt, what to photograph, when to ring the police." url: "https://locksmithmutxamel.es/blog/home-after-weeks-away-and-the-lock-feels-wrong/" business: "Locksmith Mutxamel" --- # Home after weeks away, and the lock feels wrong A stiff key, fresh scratches round the cylinder, a door that shuts differently. How to tell ordinary wear from an attempt, what to photograph, and when to ring the police before anyone else. 30 October 2026 · 4 min read You come back to a chalet in Bonalba or Valle del Sol after a few weeks away. The key goes in, but it is stiff. Or there is a scratch round the cylinder you do not remember. Is it just the lock, or has someone been at it? ## Signs that point to an attempt - **Fresh, bright scratches** on the face of the cylinder or round the keyhole, especially if the metal under them is shiny. - **A cylinder that sticks out further** than it used to, or moves when you wiggle it. - **Marks on the edge of the door** or the frame near the lock: dents, splinters, paint pushed in. - **A bent or loose guard plate**, or screws that look as if they have been turned. - **The door shutting differently**, as if the frame has moved. If you see any of these, **do not go in**. Step back, ring **112**, **091** or the Policía Local, and wait for them. Somebody could still be inside, and the police may want to see the door untouched. ## Signs that point to plain wear - The key is stiff but there are no new marks, and it frees up after a few turns. - Dust or fine sand in the keyway, common in a house that has been shut for weeks. - A door that has dropped slightly and catches on the keep. [This guide](https://locksmithmutxamel.es/blog/unlocked-yet-the-door-will-not-give/) covers that. A little dry lubricant (graphite or PTFE, never oil) often sorts out a stiff cylinder. If it does not, the cylinder may simply be worn: [a booked lock change](https://locksmithmutxamel.es/lock-change-mutxamel/) is the answer. ## Photograph before you touch Whatever you decide, take photos of the door, the cylinder and the frame from a few angles before anything is cleaned or repaired. If it does turn out to be an attempt, the insurer will want them. ## Before you go away next time A cylinder with protection against snapping and bumping, a guard plate that covers it, and a neighbour who checks the gate now and then all make an empty house a worse target. [How doors are forced](https://locksmithmutxamel.es/blog/snapped-bumped-or-picked/) explains what each protection does. And if the house is newly yours, [which locks to change first](https://locksmithmutxamel.es/blog/bought-a-chalet-gate-door-and-annex-in-that-order/). Somebody has tried the door? It is made to close and lock on the first visit, with a written note for the insurer, and made harder to force after that. [Burglary repair Mutxamel, from the forced door to one that is harder to force](https://locksmithmutxamel.es/burglary-repair-mutxamel/) Two more worth a look - [Bought a chalet? The gate, the front door and the annex, in that order](https://locksmithmutxamel.es/blog/bought-a-chalet-gate-door-and-annex-in-that-order/) · 4 min - [Snapped, bumped or picked: how front doors are forced](https://locksmithmutxamel.es/blog/snapped-bumped-or-picked/) · 5 min - [Every guide for Mutxamel](https://locksmithmutxamel.es/blog/) ## Easier to explain it on the phone? Ring at any hour, or send a photo of the door and a location pin on WhatsApp. Open 24 hours · 7 days [+34 678 583 290](tel:+34678583290) [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/34678583290?text=Hi%2C%20I%20need%20a%20locksmith%20in%20Mutxamel.%20Where%20I%20am%20(street%2C%20and%20the%20urbanization%20or%20partida%3A%20Bonalba%2C%20Valle%20del%20Sol%2C%20El%20Ravalet%2C%20Riodel%E2%80%A6)%20and%20what%20has%20happened%3A)