![\"Step-by-step](\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Open-Door-Credit-Card-1.jpg\")
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A few years ago, we were cat-sitting for some friends. They gave me keys to the exterior door leading into their garage. Once inside, I was able to access the unlocked door that went from the garage into the house. Easy peasy.<\/span><\/p>\n Well, one day, I took my kids with me to feed the cats, and one of them decided to lock the spring-loaded latch as we exited the house into the garage. As I was about to leave through the garage door, I started to hear the <\/span>click-click-click<\/span><\/i> of the gas stove ignitor.<\/span><\/p>\n Since there was no one else in the house, that was definitely weird.<\/span><\/p>\n “Holy crap!\u201d I thought. \u201cThe cats must be turning on the gas stove! They’re going to blow up the house! I got to get in there to turn it off . . . but I don’t have keys to unlock this door!”<\/span><\/p>\n Thankfully, I had my wallet with me. I pulled out a rewards card and shimmied open the spring-latched door \u2014 just like MacGyver would.<\/span><\/p>\n When the door popped open, the cats were staring at me. I rushed to the stove. The gas wasn\u2019t turned on. I called my friend to ask about the clicking noise.<\/span><\/p>\n “Oh, yeah,\u201d he said. \u201cThe ignitor does that sometimes. The gas isn’t on, but the ignitor will make that clicking noise. Don’t sweat it.”<\/span><\/p>\n Non-crisis averted.<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re ever in an actual emergency where you need to open a door you don\u2019t have keys for, it\u2019s good to have the know-how illustrated above in your back pocket. While this method won\u2019t work on every type of lock (like deadbolts or high-security locks), it can work on spring-latch locks, which are typically found on interior doors.<\/span><\/p>\n By doing nothing more than sliding a flexible plastic card (preferably one you don’t mind potentially damaging) between the door frame and the locking mechanism, you can often gain entry in under a minute without harming the door or the lock.<\/span><\/p>\n