How to Create Privacy If Your Door Does Not Lock
During a lockdown, you may find it necessary to create privacy in your home or apartment. Here’s how.
BLOCKADE A DOOR THAT OPENS INWARD
Find a straight-backed wooden or metal chair.
Shut the door.
Place the chair about a foot from the door.
How far away you place it will depend upon how tall the chair’s back is, so adjust the distance accordingly.
Tilt the chair backward so that the top of the chair is wedged underneath the doorknob.
The seat should be facing upward. If necessary, pull the bottom of the chair out a bit so that the top of the chair will fit under the knob.
Push down on the front of the seat or the bottom of the front legs.
When the chair is securely wedged, kick it in further to make the blockade tight.
Place a large item of furniture (a trunk or dresser) directly against the chair.
The chair buttressed by other furniture will make it extremely difficult to open the door from outside.
BLOCKADE A DOOR THAT OPENS OUTWARD
Using a rope, fishing line, phone cord, or electrical cord, tie the doorknob to the leg of a heavy dresser or other immovable object. Loop the rope around the knob several times so that it will not slip off, and be sure the line to the fixture remains taut. Anyone trying to enter the room will be unable to pull the door open.
ENTRY ALARM
Collect stackable items that will make a noise if toppled.
Empty cans—between 6 and 10—work best. Jars or bottles will also work in an emergency, but the glass might break.
Select a door.
Alarm a door other than the one to the room you are in, so that you will have advance warning if someone is coming. For example, alarm the front door if you are in the bedroom.
Shut the door.
Stack the items against the door.
Retreat to your room.
If someone opens the alarmed door, the items will topple and you will have time to prepare for their approach.
Alternate Method
Tie several cans, cowbells, or Christmas ornaments to the doorknob. When your intruder opens the door, the objects will knock against each other, warning you of an interruption.