I thought that I couldn’t love a lock more than my original Door Guardian (it’s a must if you have small children at home that like to escape or just want a lock that is much more secure than a deadbolt), but I have since discovered a different lock that improves my life even more. It just so happens to be a kind of specialized lock just for sliding glass/patio doors called the Cardinal Gates Patio Door Guardian.
*Hey there, thanks for stopping by my website. This article is super old, so it has been archived as I no longer update it…so proceed if you wish…but it is definitely not my best work. Please stop by my home page, here, and see some of my better content. Thanks! ~Sarah*
Honestly, I love the thing so much that I may as well have titled this post “Ode to Cardinal Gates Patio Door Guardian”.
I know…super cheesy, but I’m being totally genuine because I bought it with my own money, the folks over at Cardinal Gates did not send me one for free, and they are not paying me to tell you this… I just love it that much, they make such a high quality product!
Since moving in about five months ago, our patio door has been secured by the standard, super hideous, sawed-off broom handle. This was not only an eyesore, but my kids would frequently walk off with it or brandish it as a weapon (no joke, it was driving me crazy and kids were getting hurt on a regular basis with it). I would literally spend several minutes a day looking for the dang thing because I’m pretty obsessive about securing our home, and of course, the fact that we don’t have a fenced in back-yard yet I get nervous about little ones running off and getting harmed.
After kissing what seemed like the millionth, broomstick handle caused, boo boo I finally had had enough and decided to do a search to see what I could find that would solve the ever growing list of problems that arose from using the broom handle…and I came across the Cardinal Gates Patio Door Guardian…Hallelujah!!!
It took my husband around 15-20 minutes to install it, and only that long because it needed to be flipped around (it’s reversible to work on whichever direction your door opens) and it has been so wonderful to have ever since! The house is constantly secure now, no more wondering who took the broom handle and where on earth they put it. No more tears because someone just got whacked by one of their sisters.
No more waking up in a panic wondering if I remembered to make sure that the stick got put back before we all went to bed. No more worrying about little ones getting out. I did teach the older two kids how to open it because they do need to know that as a safety precaution in case there is a fire, but they know it’s to keep their little sisters safe so they pretty much leave it alone.
One feature that I really like about the Cardinal Gates Patio Door Guardian is that it has a ventilation feature. It allows you to lock the door open with a three-inch gap and if anyone tries to close it, it slides back into full locking mode so that no one can get in/out. It’s so handy! The only issue that I’ve had with it, these past few months, is once I didn’t lock it into place to stay open and I totally locked myself out. So just be careful of doing that and you won’t have any problems with it.
Isn’t it so much better looking that the broomstick handle? I think that it looks so much classier. Which is an added pro to solving our dilemma. It’s pretty pitiful that having a stick in the house was causing so much trouble, but hey, problem solved and we are more secure and happier because of it.
In case you missed the links throughout the post, if you are looking to get one, you can find it here. It is well worth the money!
Anyway, I hate sounding like I’m trying to pitch you something. I really don’t share or review a product unless it is something that has improved my life in some way, so there’s that. As usual, please share this post with anyone you know that may find it helpful. Thanks ~Sarah
P.S. A note from my now, ex-husband. He said to pay special attention when you are installing it to make sure that you use the right screws for the right holes. That is because if you use the long ones where the short ones are supposed to go, you could risk breaking the glass in your door so just pay attention and you should be fine. Also, he offered to help me make a little youtube video to show it working in action, however, when you are on the product page there is one already if you scroll down a bit.