3 Ways to Deal With a Squeaky Door

Few things in life are as annoying as squeaky doors. Imagine trying to be quiet so as not to wake up anyone in the house as you come home late. You keep silent and take off your shoes to muffle your footsteps—only to have that darned hinge give you away as its squeaks its heart out as you open the door.

Another thing that most people don’t like about squeaky doors is that the sound they make conjures up images of horror movies, especially when the squeaking goes ever-so slowly like some ghost or monster is going to pop out from nowhere and bring you to your doom.

It’s just as good thing that fixing a squeaky door is easy. Even home owners with very minimal DIY skills can do it easily enough. Here are three ways to deal with a squeaky door.

1. Use WD-40 to lubricate squeaky doors

A can of WD-40 is touted to have more than two thousand uses, and lubricating squeaky doors to shut them up is just one of them. It is the default solution for many home owners when it comes to fixing a squeaky door. Just spray the WD-40 directly onto the offending hinge as you swing the door back and forth until the squeaking stops. If you don’t want the oil to get onto the wood of your door, put a paper towel around the hinge.

2. Remove the hinge pin

Unfortunately, WD-40 is only a temporary solution. Enough time passes, and the door will squeak again. If you want a more permanent solution, you should just remove the hinge completely from the door and slide out the hinge pin. To remove the hinge pin, which holds the hinge plates together, move it clockwise and counterclockwise using a pair of long pliers.

There are number of things you can do to the hinge pin to stop the squeaking for good. One is to give it a good rub with a steel wool to remove any dust, bits of paint and wood and all kinds of debris that could accumulate in the hinge over time. Sandpaper will also do the trick and remove rust as well. Once the hinge pin is clear of all debris, spray the whole thing again with WD-40 before putting the hinge pin back in place. In case you don’t have WD-40 at home, rolling the pin on a bar of soap would be a good way to lubricate the hinge pin.

3. Forget fixing a squeaky door and just replace it

If the squeaking persists despite all your efforts, there’s only one thing left to do: remove the offending hinges and chuck them in the trash bin. Head to the neighbourhood hardware store and buy brand new hinges for just a few dollars. There are just times when the time and effort that you spend on fixing a squeaky door are just not worth it, not when you can easily buy a replacement at a hardware store a few blocks down the road at a very cheap price.