Would change to lock- free door, but we know she will not like the idea. We are concerned that at age 91, and my Dad at 92... that she may fall or stumble and would like to prevent these injuries.
Change the lock on the door where she can lock the door but you can open it from your side. Some assisted living places have these. They lock from the outside, but not the inside.
If Mom has dementia then there is really no option but to change/disable the lock or put on one that can be accessed in emergency. Call a locksmith and have it done.
There is no reason for mother to be locking herself in her room, unless dementia is involved and she's no longer in possession of good common sense. If that's the case, there's DEFINITELY no reason for her to be locked in her room! All you need is to have to call 911 to get her OUT of there, right?
I'd run the risk of her wrath and have the lock removed. Come up with whatever story you need to for her to understand she can no longer be locked in a room alone. Maybe tell her it's against fire code and you called the fire chief who confirmed it.
My daughter wanted her room locked when she was not at home. We bought a regular front door knob. We put the lock mechanism on the inside and the key lock on the outside. She had a key to open it.
Most reg door knobs have a little hole on the opposite side of the lock. Usually, there is a key that can be stuck in the hole to unlock the door. If u don't have one, anything as small as the hole can be stuck in to release the lock. Its a safety feature for children.
Why does your mother feel she has to lock herself in her bedroom? Does she have dementia and is she hallucinating that someone is trying to hurt her? If you take the lock off, she may start trying to block the door with furniture. I would try to get to the bottom of why she feels she has to lock the door. And yes, she could fall and hurt herself. If you suspect she has become injured and the door is locked, your only option would be to break it down and if she can understand this, I’d tell her this is what you’d do.
Is it a keyed lock or a passage lock, like is found on most bathroom doors? A passage lock is easy to unlock from the outside.
If you swap it out for a non locking knob and she throws a fit, what else can she do about it? Does she have the ability to call a locksmith to change it?
Another option if it is a keyed lock is to take the knob off, remove the locking tumblers from inside of it and replace the knob. It will look the same to her, but will not lock. It will still latch.
The bigger question is why is she doing this? Is this a new behaviour?
Thank you! She has begun hiding her pain meds... not sure why she is hiding them...great idea about taking the tumbler off... but she will talk my Dad into fixing it... think we will purchase a new door that does not have locking features...
I'd run the risk of her wrath and have the lock removed. Come up with whatever story you need to for her to understand she can no longer be locked in a room alone. Maybe tell her it's against fire code and you called the fire chief who confirmed it.
Best of luck!
My daughter wanted her room locked when she was not at home. We bought a regular front door knob. We put the lock mechanism on the inside and the key lock on the outside. She had a key to open it.
Most reg door knobs have a little hole on the opposite side of the lock. Usually, there is a key that can be stuck in the hole to unlock the door. If u don't have one, anything as small as the hole can be
stuck in to release the lock. Its a safety feature for children.
I have used a sharpened pencil.
If you swap it out for a non locking knob and she throws a fit, what else can she do about it? Does she have the ability to call a locksmith to change it?
Another option if it is a keyed lock is to take the knob off, remove the locking tumblers from inside of it and replace the knob. It will look the same to her, but will not lock. It will still latch.
The bigger question is why is she doing this? Is this a new behaviour?
She has begun hiding her pain meds... not sure why she is hiding them...great idea about taking the tumbler off... but she will talk my Dad into fixing it... think we will purchase a new door that does not have locking features...