Beware cheap door locks - Got locked in the lav.

[Crossy]

Soooo, Saturday, went for a leak, nothing untoward on the way in.

 

Go to exit, the handle operated but the lock didn't, I could see the tongue not moving.

 

Nothing in the bathroom to use to wiggle the tongue.

 

Hollered to Madam, finally got her to pass me a knife through the window (downstairs lav) and managed to wriggle the tongue open and make good my escape.

 

On removing the lock I found that the mechanism was working just fine but the tongue had become detached from the pully-bit. This meant that even if I'd been able to dismantle the handle from inside the room I wouldn't have been able to unlock the door.

 

Lock replaced by a decent Yale one which has (ok, seems to have) a more robust actuation mechanism hopefully it won't fail.

 

All very funny, laughs all round of course and I'm quite sure ThaiVisa members will have a good belly-laugh at a Mod getting stranded in the smallest room  - Bash away guys, I wouldn't have posted if I was shy about it ???? 

 

BUT

 

What if Madam hadn't been home, or she got stuck whilst I was at work, no phone to call me to come and save her. Hopefully she will now remember to take her phone in the loo with her.

 

I'm going to check the other bathroom doors and replace any of the el-cheapo locks.

 

SO

 

How would you escape in similar circumstances?

 

 

[Crossy]

Not a bathroom, but a tragic outcome nonetheless.

 

https://nypost.com/2018/06/20/naked-woman-dies-trying-to-escape-closet-from-hell/

 

 

[bluesofa]

OK, I'll 'go' first:

As you didn't have anything inside the to make good your escape from the loo, does that mean you were left with nothing to go on?

[sirineou]

I have never thought about that, I guess I should start bringing better reading material with me,

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I have never thought about that, I guess I should start bringing better reading material with me,

Or perhaps writing material too.

If you were in there for a prolonged time, you could either write your memoirs (both pages). Or if push came to shove, so to speak, you could try putting a message in a bottle.

[Crossy]

Just now, bluesofa said:

you could try putting a message in a bottle.

 

And flush it down the loo?

[Beggar]

I never close the door if I am alone at home. For what reason should I close it? 

[GreasyFingers]

Looking at it from the other side, the loo doors in our older house have barrel bolts on the inside. If you had a heart attack or fell over and knocked unconscious any help would have to smash the door down. I do not think the missus would know what to do.

[Crossy]

2 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Looking at it from the other side, the loo doors in our older house have barrel bolts on the inside. If you had a heart attack or fell over and knocked unconscious any help would have to smash the door down. I do not think the missus would know what to do.

 

Very true, both old and new locks have slots to open them from outside.

 

[ianezy0]

No. 1 or No. 2. This can become an important point in an investigation, should prosecution be required!

[bluesofa]

7 minutes ago, Beggar said:

I never close the door if I am alone at home. For what reason should I close it? 

Burglars?

[thequietman]

45 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Bash away guys, I wouldn't have posted if I was shy about it

Funny you shud mention 'bash away' - is that what you were doing in there? ????

[thequietman]

8 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Looking at it from the other side, the loo doors in our older house have barrel bolts on the inside. If you had a heart attack or fell over and knocked unconscious any help would have to smash the door down. I do not think the missus would know what to do.

That's easy. Straight to the ATM she would go. ????

[Crossy]

2 minutes ago, ianezy0 said:

No. 1 or No. 2. This can become an important point in an investigation, should prosecution be required!

 

As noted in my OP, No.1s ????

 

[thequietman]

2 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Burglars?

What! Turd burglars. ????

[RichardColeman]

53 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Hopefully she will now remember to take her phone in the loo with her.

If she gets stuck in the loo with a phone chances are you'll be home before she calls you

[ianezy0]

6 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

As noted in my OP, No.1s ????

 

Now you know as well as everyone else that, at an older age, going for a leak (No. 1) can turn in to a No. 2 if you f%+t mid stream ????.

 

[transam]

Same happened at my place, spent ages looking for the key. Replaced it with a key-less one, has a screwdriver slot to unlock it. It was marked as Hafele German design and doesn't seem as sloppy as the old one...

[bluesofa]

16 minutes ago, thequietman said:

19 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Burglars?

What! Turd burglars. ????

Ha ha, yes! I was going to write that, then thought I see how long it might be before someone else went for it.  Three minutes - not bad!

[scubascuba3]

similar thing happened to me in the UK, i managed to get out but as a precaution i kept a spare phone in there. Important for those living alone. Easy to die i reckon

[Crossy]

19 minutes ago, ianezy0 said:

Now you know as well as everyone else that, at an older age, going for a leak (No. 1) can turn in to a No. 2 if you f%+t mid stream ????

  

The bathrooms in our hotel in Bangalore were carefully designed so you could explode into the pan and throw-up in the sink without moving.

 

Do NOT ask how I know!

 

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

similar thing happened to me in the UK, i managed to get out but as a precaution i kept a spare phone in there. Important for those living alone. Easy to die i reckon

True. If the worst happened and you did die in there. at least you'd need a coffin four sizes smaller than when you went in.

 

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, Crossy said:

  

The bathrooms in our hotel in Bangalore were carefully designed so you could explode into the pan and throw-up in the sink without moving.

 

Do NOT ask how I know!

Now that's what i call multi-tasking.

 

edit: Or after a curry: Burning the candle at both ends.

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by bluesofa
addendum

[dddave]

For me, the opposite experience of Crossy.

When I exit my apartment, I push the button within the inside doorknob to lock the door. It's become totally automatic.

My bathroom door has the same kind of lock.  A few days ago my brain detached from my hand and I, without thinking , pushed the lock button as I exited the bathroom.  I was thus now denied entry to perhaps the most critical room in my small domain. 

I was able to locate a dusty ring of keys left by the landlord when I took occupancy 15 years ago but of course, none would fit that particular lock.

My former GF's niece is staying in my apartment while attending a local University.  She started tapping away at her phone for a bit, then went at the lock with her BTS card.

I cynically stated that the credit card technique only worked in movies.....five seconds later she popped open the door.   It was humbling. 

Thank goodness for cheap locks. 

Edited January 5, 2020 by dddave

[Crossy]

22 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Or after a curry: Burning the candle at both ends.

 

Despite the occasional "episode" our local pub did stunning local grub. Chicken or mutton "something", Kingfisher "Strong" and F1, what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon ????

 

[Rimmer]

It's a moderator thing Crossy, happened to me a while back and ever since then I have a zip tie in the bathroom cupboard, do a search on youtube how to use it to open the locked door from the inside  ????

[cmsally]

Better to get the bathroom locks that you can open with a Baht coin. They don't need keys! Otherwise you are always locking yourself out of the bathroom!

 

We had relatively expensive Hafele (sp?) locks that got stuck and had to be replaced, so I'm not sure it's always the cheapest.

[Rimmer]

On 1/5/2020 at 5:39 PM, Rimmer said:

It's a moderator thing Crossy, happened to me a while back and ever since then I have a zip tie in the bathroom cupboard, do a search on youtube how to use it to open the locked door from the inside  ????

Looks like its gone, but what you do is this:

 

Feed the zip tie around the offending latch though the gap in the door and catch it underneath as it comes out back toward you, clip the tie together so you can get a good grip on it then sharply pull the door and the zip tie together. the latch will click open.

[ianezy0]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

  

The bathrooms in our hotel in Bangalore were carefully designed so you could explode into the pan and throw-up in the sink without moving.

 

Do NOT ask how I know!

 

Ha ha ha Surely this is the basis of a hotel room selection. ????????
I will immediately contact Booking dotcom to improve their filter process

Edited January 5, 2020 by ianezy0

[chickenslegs]

2 hours ago, Beggar said:

I never close the door if I am alone at home. For what reason should I close it? 

Odours?