The old houses of Carrer la Mar know about Levante storms better than anyone. When the easterly blew hard, the sea used to come straight through the front-line houses of the fishermen’s quarter, in at the front door and out at the back. That only stopped when breakwaters and a sea wall were built to protect the new promenade, opened in 1964.
The sea no longer walks through the hall, but a big Levante still throws spray, sand and salt at every door and terrace on the first line, from Muchavista to the coves of the northern district. Locks are small, precise and full of gaps, and a storm finds all of them.
What a storm leaves inside a lock
Three things, in order of how much damage they do:
- Sand. Fine, dry sand is blown into keyholes and into the bottom tracks of sliding doors. In a cylinder it jams the pins; in a track it grinds the rollers.
- Salt. Spray dries and leaves salt crystals on the hooks, keeps and springs. Salt draws moisture back in on the next humid night, and that is when corrosion starts.
- Water. On a ground floor, rain and spray driven against the door get into the lock case itself. Steel parts inside a door rarely dry quickly.
None of this usually stops a lock the same morning. It shows up a week or a month later as a key that is stiff to turn, or a terrace door handle that will not drop.
The morning after: a five-minute check
Go round the outside doors before you need them:
- Lock and unlock each door from outside, with the key, not the latch. A key that grates or needs wiggling has sand in the cylinder.
- Slide every terrace and balcony door its full length. If it catches or drags, there is grit in the bottom track.
- Lift the handle of a multipoint door and feel whether it moves more heavily than usual.
- Look at the padlocks and key boxes on gates and walls. They are fully exposed and seize first.
What you can safely do yourself
- Rinse the tracks of sliding doors with fresh water and a soft brush, then dry them. This alone saves a lot of rollers.
- Wipe the visible parts of hooks, keeps and handles with a damp cloth to take the salt off, then dry.
- Use a dry lubricant in cylinders: graphite or a PTFE spray made for locks. A little, then work the key in and out a few times.
What to leave alone
- No oil and no general-purpose spray in the keyhole. Oil holds sand, and a cylinder full of sticky grit is worse than a dry one.
- Do not force a key that will not turn. That is how keys snap in cylinders. If gentle work with the key and a little dry lubricant does not free it, stop.
- Do not take the lock case out of the door to dry it. Multipoint gearboxes do not go back together easily.
When it needs a locksmith
- A cylinder that stays stiff after cleaning has corroded pins and is better replaced. That is a straightforward job, covered on the lock change page.
- A terrace door that slides but no longer locks has usually dropped onto worn rollers, so the hook misses its keep. That is adjustment or new rollers, not a new door.
- A lock that has stopped working altogether on the only door into the house is better looked at before the next storm, not after.
If the storm came with a break-in, or damage that looks forced rather than weathered, keep everything as it is and read photograph the forced door before anyone repairs it first.