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Oh Dear! What can the matter be

(11 Posts)
NanaDenise Wed 01-Apr-15 09:56:07

Last weekend, on my way to bed, I went to the bathroom (as you do). When I turned the door handle to get out, it turned but the door didn't open. Oh Dear! I wrestled with the handle, turned it this way and that. Still no joy. Fortunately, I don't live alone. I called my husband and he came to the rescue. He slid a knife under the door to see if I could undo the screws holding the door knob in place. They were cross headed so I couldn't undo them. The door knob is one with an integral lock in the middle which can be undone, if locked from the outside. We chose it so that we could release grandchildren should they be unable to undo it themselves. However, I hadn't locked it so DBH went away and returned with a wrecking bar and club hammer. Half an hour later, the entire lock had been jemmied out and I was free. YAY! However, I got to thinking about what would have happened if I lived alone. Or if my husband had been out for the day. I didn't have my phone with me, our bathroom doesn't have a window and even if it did, it's on the first floor. I think I will now keep a screwdriver in the bathroom cabinet - any other suggestions? We all laughed about it at the time, but it could have been very serious. DGD was so concerned she filmed it on her phone!

rosequartz Wed 01-Apr-15 10:30:07

It happened to me when DH fitted a new door handle between the kitchen and utility room . I went into the utility room (which is usually really chilly in the winter) and couldn't get back into the kitchen and the rest of the house as the handle wouldn'engage. DH was out. I couldn't go out through the back door and ask my neighbour for our spare front door key as she was at work.
Luckily DH came back after an hour or so.
It's still a bit dodgy!

shysal Wed 01-Apr-15 11:28:30

That scared me, until it dawned on me that, as I live alone, I never close the door fully!
What an experience, NanaDenise!

KatyK Wed 01-Apr-15 15:22:10

It happened to my nephew. He was last to leave for work and got stuck in the bathroom. He had to stand on the loo and open the very small window and start shouting. One of the neighbours was passing by and my nephew asked him to phone his dad to come home and get him out. Boy was he embarrassed.

AshTree Wed 01-Apr-15 15:36:44

Goodness, what a thing to happen! A friend's husband was in the house alone, and was about to leave when he realised he'd picked up the wrong keys and couldn't unlock the front door. He then found he'd pulled the inner door shut, which had a yale lock, meaning he was trapped in the tiny lobby! He had to wait till his wife came back, which was about an hour later tbugrin.

jackiekiel Thu 02-Apr-15 09:46:41

I, too, have a bathroom without a window and a sticky door handle. Your posts are prompting me to do what I've been meaning to do for ages - take out the lock and install a simple slide across bolt.
I suffer from claustrophobia and my biggest nightmare is the type of underground windowless loo you often find in restaurants. I did get locked in once and got some very strange looks from other clients after I'd yelled blue murder and almost kicked the door down in my panic!

sunseeker Thu 02-Apr-15 09:58:12

Reminds me of the time a few years ago when a neighbour rang the bell early one morning to say her husband was locked in the bathroom - which was on the top floor of their three storey house! They had just renovated the house and had had a very elaborate and expensive lock put on the bathroom door. My DH went across and didn't have much luck attempting to remove the lock so, he got several ladders, climbed up the outside of the building until he got to the bathroom window when he almost had to carry the terrified man back down to the ground!

aggie Thu 02-Apr-15 10:08:15

My Granddaughter managed to slide the bolt across inside the bathroom , she was 3 yrs old . Panic ensued when we couldn't get her to slide it back , her Mum managed to stay calm and told the little dear (grrr) to go wash her hands to get her away from the door while OH jemmied the door open , the slide bolt is now at the top of the door

hildajenniJ Thu 02-Apr-15 10:38:12

My DGD turned the key in my bedroom door when she was visiting. She was about 2 or 3 at the time. The keys don't come easily out of the locks so we couldn't ask her to slide it under the door. My DD and I were had no idea how we could release her, so I phoned the Fire Brigade. Fortunately it was summer time and the velux window in the bedroom was open. (We would have climbed in ourselves, but we don't have a long enough ladder). The Firemen put their ladders up against the house and climbed in, unlocked the door and let her out. They were quite happy for the practice and DGD totally unfazed by the whole process. I removed all the keys from all the doors after that, and didn't return them until after the DGC had gone to live in Scotland.

Stansgran Thu 02-Apr-15 21:18:27

An elderly friend(92+) found she couldn't get out of the bath. She lives on her own and in the end dragged enough towels to go underneath her and raise herself sufficiently to tip herself out. She never has a bath now without a phone at hand.

amarmai Fri 03-Apr-15 02:14:46

When my daughter was little she managed to lock herself and me in the bathroom while we were in our pjs. We had to exit thru the window into snow up to my knees and wrapped in towels and bathmats go to the neighbour for help. He was seen entering thru the window by the neighbour at the bottom of the yard and she called the police. They arrived with guns while he was busy taking the door off its hinges. I thanked him and the woman who called the police and am now very careful with locks !