How to Unlock a Bedroom Door & Unlock a Bathroom Door

5 Ways Get Unlock a Bedroom Door or Bathroom Door (Privacy Lock)

You’ve probably done it. We’ve definitely have done it. Almost everyone with kids has likely had it done to them. How do you unlock a bathroom door or unlock a bedroom door when someone has accidently locked it or locked you out?

There are five ways to unlock the privacy locks found on bedroom and bathroom doors. You can turn the spindle using a privacy lock key, a small screw driver, a thick paper clip, or a metal clothes hanger. You can open the latch using a thin piece of plastic.

What Type of Lock is on a Bathroom and Bedroom Door – the “Privacy Lock”

Prefer Video? Watch Our YouTube Video Showing These Techniques.

A privacy lock is one which has a locking mechanism on the inside of the door that you turn to lock the door but does not have an obvious keyed cylinder on the outside of the door. Most homes have privacy locks installed on the bathroom and bedroom doors.

Though they don’t take a standard key, they do have a means of unlocking them from the outside. Typically, it’s a little hole in the center of the outside portion of the lockset. Inside that hole is the means to unlock the set.

The locks come with a privacy lock key when you purchase them, but they often disappear over time.

The first ways to unlock a privacy lever is by using this key, and three of the hacks we’re going to show you, involve the same concept as using the key to unlock the bedroom door.

Basically the privacy key is a rod whose tip is just a flattened piece of metal. In the attached image you can see the inside of a sample privacy knob. That little piece in the center has a notch that will fit that privacy key. Insert the ‘key’ straight in the hole, give it a turn, and you will have unlocked your lock!

The only tricky part is that you really need to make sure you are going into the hole in the door straight at the groove. If you are at an angle, you’ll miss it.

These little tools will sit nicely above the frame of the outer door. That way, if your child every locks the door, you can just grap the key from right above the door. It’s out of the way, but handy should you need it. We sell privacy lock keys in packs of 5 on our website for less than $10.

But, if you are reading this, it may be because you’ve just been locked out of the bedroom or bathroom, and you are looking to get into that room NOW!

No problem.

Many objects in your home can be used to substitute for a privacy key in a pinch, starting with the most obvious: Use a small flathead screwdriver to open the door.

Very small – like an eyeglass screwdriver. Most dollar stores carry a small set of 5 or 6 eye glass – sized screwdrivers. If you have one of these laying around the house, insert it into the bedroom or bathroom door’s hole, turn, and you’re in, just as if using a key.

No screwdriver? No problem. A cloths hanger can be used too! A third method is to use a hammer to flatten the head of a wire coat hanger tip, which can work also.

Once made, unlocking is exactly the same as if you had an actual key.

As a key substitute, you can even a robust paperclip. You’ll need a larger sized one. The smaller paperclips have thinner metal that will just often twist before they turn the spindle to open the door lock. Just bend the paperclip so that it has a rounded, yet flat tip and use it just as you would an actual key.

Lastly. All of the above methods act like a key substitution, but you can also attack the latch to open the bedroom door.

To do this, use a piece of plastic cut from a water bottle, or any firm yet flexible plastic card. Shim the plastic between the door and the frame to pull back the door latch.

You can see this method in this video we posted on YouTube. The method will usually work on any privacy lever, because privacy locks do not have a locking plunger that prevents this type of lock attack.