Smart locks
House lockouts
Re-keying
Deadbolt upgrades
Schlage
Kwikset
Car keys & fobsNon-destructive entry first, always - and we re-key Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin locks on the spot while you watch
You get a price before we start. It does not change when we arrive. No surprises.
Get your free estimateFast, Reliable Emergency Locksmith Across Citrus
Locked out in Citrus at midnight? We’ll get you back inside. True Blue Locksmith runs 24/7 emergency response through the 91702 zip code, from the ranch-style streets off Citrus Avenue up toward the foothills of the Angeles National Forest. A typical emergency lockout in Citrus runs $85 – $165 for standard entry, and we quote the full price on the phone before anyone rolls out. Call (877) 358-5506 and you’ll talk to a real dispatcher who knows this area, not a call center reading a script.
What sets Citrus apart from neighboring cities like Azusa or Covina is the housing stock. Many homes here date to the mid-20th century, and that means original mortise locks, solid wood doors, and hardware you won’t find at a big-box store. Our Emergency Locksmith team carries the vintage parts and the patience to work on these older systems without wrecking your door frame. You’re not getting a tech who only knows how to drill and replace. You’re getting someone who understands the doors in this specific community.
Why True Blue Locksmith Is Citrus’s Preferred Emergency Locksmith Company
We didn’t start serving Citrus yesterday. Noel Carrasco has built True Blue Locksmith around a simple idea: show up when you say you will, fix the lock without overselling, and charge what you quoted. That matters more in a place like Citrus, where the semi-rural feel means there’s no strip of locksmith storefronts to walk into. People here rely on mobile service, and they remember who actually came through at 2 a.m.
Our techs know the difference between a mid-century tract home off Glendora Avenue and a custom property up near the national forest boundary. That local knowledge changes how we approach a job. A stuck deadbolt on a 1950s solid wood door is a different problem than a misaligned strike plate on a newer build. We stock parts for both, and we don’t charge you for a learning curve. That’s why Citrus homeowners keep our number in their phone even when they’re not locked out.
We work across eight lock brands, including Schlage, Kwikset, and Medeco. If your home still has its original mortise lock, we service that too. Most emergency locksmiths in the area will tell you to replace it. We’ll fix it if it’s fixable and tell you straight if it isn’t. That’s the True Blue way: no games, no padding the invoice, no pushing a full replacement when a rekey or an adjustment does the job.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Emergency Locksmith Services in Citrus
24/7 Emergency Lockout
Locked out of your house in Citrus at any hour, any day? We’re ready. A standard house lockout in the 91702 area typically runs $85 – $165 depending on the lock type and time of night. If you’ve still got an original mortise lock from the 1950s or 1960s, the job takes a little more finesse, but we quote that on the phone so there are no surprises. No call-out surcharge added when we arrive. The price we quote is the price on the invoice.
Broken Key Extraction
Broken keys happen more often than you’d think, especially in older Citrus homes where people are still using keys cut three owners ago. A worn key snaps off in a Baldwin or Schlage deadbolt, and now you’re stuck on the porch. We extract broken keys without damaging the cylinder in most cases. Typical cost runs $75 – $150, and we can often cut a fresh key on the spot so you don’t have to worry about the weakened original.
Safe Opening
Got a safe you can’t get into? Maybe it came with the house and the combination was lost during the sale, or the dial mechanism finally seized after decades of heat and dry air. Safe opening in Citrus usually runs $150 – $400 depending on the type of safe and whether it’s a key override, dial manipulation, or drill-and-repair situation. We’ll walk you through the options before we touch anything. No guesswork, no destroyed safe unless you authorize it after we explain why.
Eviction Lock Change
Landlords in Citrus need fast, documented lock changes when a tenant leaves. We handle eviction lock changes with written confirmation of the work, which you’ll want for your records. Pricing typically runs $65 – $125 for a standard cylinder change on a modern lock, and $95 – $175 if we’re rekeying an older mortise setup or one that hasn’t been serviced in years. Call (877) 358-5506 and we’ll walk you through what your specific property needs before scheduling.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Citrus
We’re certified to work on professional-grade hardware that most residential locksmiths won’t touch: Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, Sargent. We also handle the everyday names on Citrus doors: Schlage, Kwikset, Yale, Baldwin. If your home still has its original mortise lock from the mid-century build era, we carry vintage-style parts and know how to source what we don’t have on the truck. One call covers it all. No referrals to three different specialists. No “we don’t work on that brand.” Your lock, our expertise.
Common Emergency Locksmith Problems We See in Citrus Homes
- Original mortise locks on solid wood doors. Many Citrus homes built in the 1950s and 1960s still have their original mortise lock bodies. These aren’t standard pin-and-tumbler cylinders, and a tech who’s never worked on them will either drill your door or talk you into a replacement you don’t need. We service these locks directly, and we carry the parts to rebuild them.
- Summer door warp and stuck deadbolts. Citrus gets hot, dry summers and occasional Santa Ana winds. That combination makes older wood doors expand and shift, which throws the deadbolt out of alignment. The fix is usually a strike plate adjustment, not a new lock. A less experienced tech might force the door and crack the frame. We don’t.
- Keys still in circulation after a home sale. If you just bought an older Citrus home, the previous owner’s keys may still exist. The builder’s key, the neighbor’s spare, the dog sitter’s copy from 2014. A rekey is the answer, and it’s cheaper than you think: $65 – $125 for most Citrus homes. You don’t need a full lock swap unless the hardware is genuinely failing.
- Broken keys in Baldwin and Schlage deadbolts. We see this constantly on older Citrus doors where the key has worn down over decades of use. The key snaps off in the cylinder, and suddenly you can’t lock your own front door. We extract the broken piece, cut a new key from the code, and usually have you squared away within the hour.
Pricing for Emergency Locksmith in Citrus, CA
Let’s talk real numbers, because this industry has a bad reputation for bait-pricing. In Citrus, a standard emergency lockout on a modern pin-and-tumbler lock runs $85 – $165. A mortise lock job on an older home runs $100 – $185 because it takes more skill and time. Broken key extraction runs $75 – $150. Safe opening runs $150 – $400 depending on the safe. Eviction lock changes run $65 – $175 depending on the hardware.
| Service | Typical Citrus Price Range |
|---|---|
| Emergency house lockout (standard lock) | $85 – $165 |
| Emergency lockout (mortise lock, older home) | $100 – $185 |
| Broken key extraction | $75 – $150 |
| Safe opening | $150 – $400 |
| Eviction lock change | $65 – $175 |
| Rekey (standard lock) | $65 – $125 |
Every quote includes the full price on the phone before dispatch. There’s no call-out fee added when we arrive, no “unexpected surcharge” for the time of night, no upsell you didn’t ask for. Call (877) 358-5506 for an exact quote. Estimates are free.
Citrus’s Older Homes Need a Locksmith Who Knows Mortise Locks
Here’s what makes Citrus different from Azusa, Covina, or Glendora: the housing stock. Drive down the residential streets off Citrus Avenue and you’ll see mid-century ranch-style tract homes with solid wood doors that haven’t been replaced since Eisenhower was in office. Those doors carry mortise locks, the kind with a rectangular body set into the edge of the door, not the round cylinders you see on newer homes. Most emergency locksmiths in this region don’t stock mortise parts. They’ll tell you to replace the lock, or worse, they’ll drill through your vintage door to install a modern deadbolt that doesn’t fit the existing mortise pocket. We do it differently.
We got a 2 a.m. call from a homeowner on a ranch-style street off Citrus Avenue whose original mortise lock had jammed shut after a Santa Ana wind event warped the door frame. Our tech used non-destructive entry to open it without drilling, then rekeyed the cylinder and adjusted the strike plate so the deadbolt lined up cleanly. The homeowner kept the vintage hardware and avoided a full replacement. That’s the difference between knowing how to open a lock and knowing how to open this particular lock on this particular street.
Smart Locks on Older Citrus Doors
If you’re thinking about a smart lock on a 1950s solid wood door, there’s something you should know first. Most smart locks are designed for modern doors with standard 2-1/8-inch cross bores. Older Citrus doors often have mortise pockets or smaller bores that don’t fit a smart lock without modification. We install and service smart locks on older doors regularly, and we’ll tell you honestly whether your door can handle a retrofit or whether you’re better off with a high-security mechanical lock. No overselling. No forcing a square peg into a round mortise pocket.
We Also Serve Cities Near Citrus
While this page focuses on Citrus, our team covers the surrounding foothill communities too. We run calls to Azusa, Irwindale, Covina, and Glendora on the same schedule, with the same upfront pricing and the same mortise-lock expertise. If you’re on the edge of the 91702 boundary and not sure whether we cover your street, call (877) 358-5506. If we can’t get to you, we’ll tell you straight and point you in the right direction.
Serving Citrus, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Citrus area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs – Emergency Locksmith in Citrus
Yes, in most cases. We use non-destructive entry techniques on mortise locks, including bypass tools designed for older lock bodies and lock picking for the cylinder. Drilling is a last resort, and we’ll always tell you before we do it. Many Citrus mortise locks from the 1950s and 1960s are still entirely serviceable. Call (877) 358-5506 and describe your lock; we’ll give you an honest assessment over the phone.
Usually it’s not the lock, it’s the door frame. Hot, dry summers and Santa Ana winds cause the wood in older solid doors to expand and shift. The fix is typically a strike plate adjustment or a minor hinge realignment, not a new lock. We handle this all the time in Citrus. A quick adjustment runs $65 – $125 and takes care of the sticking for the season. Call us before you replace a perfectly good lock.
Yes, we install and service smart locks on older Citrus doors, including retrofits that require adapting a mortise pocket or modifying a solid wood door. Some older doors need a custom backset or a surface-mounted adapter. We’ll assess your door and tell you what’s feasible before quoting. Smart lock installation on older Citrus homes typically runs $150 – $300 depending on the lock and the door modifications needed.
Rekeying changes the internal pins so old keys no longer work. Replacing means swapping out the entire lock body and hardware. For most newly purchased Citrus homes, rekeying is the right move: it’s cheaper ($65 – $125 per lock versus $150 – $400 for replacement) and it preserves original mortise hardware that’s often better built than what you’d buy at a hardware store today. The only time we recommend replacement is when the lock itself is worn past repair. Call (877) 358-5506 and we’ll help you figure out which situation you’re in.
Yes. We use key extraction tools designed to grip the broken piece and pull it out without scoring the cylinder walls. Baldwin and Schlage deadbolts are both serviceable this way, and we can typically cut a replacement key on the spot. The job usually runs $75 – $150 in Citrus and takes under an hour. Call (877) 358-5506 and we’ll get you back to a working lock today.
Call True Blue Locksmith in Citrus
Locked out, broken key, stuck deadbolt, or just ready to rekey after buying an older Citrus home? Call (877) 358-5506 and you’ll get a real person who knows this area, a straight quote on the phone, and a tech who actually understands the locks on these mid-century doors. Noel Carrasco built True Blue Locksmith for people who want honest work at an honest price. That’s exactly what you’ll get, whether it’s 2 p.m. or 2 a.m.
Written by Noel Carrasco, Owner at True Blue Locksmith, serving Citrus and the surrounding foothill communities.