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How To Stop Or Fix A Squeaky Door and Best Lubricant For Door Hinges

A squeaky door hinge is perhaps one of the most annoying problems in the home to deal with. Not because it's hard to fix, but because an irritating squeak reminds you every time you open the door. If that happens to be in a high-traffic part of your home or business premises, you're going to hear an awful lot of squeaks every day.

How to fix a squeaky door hinges on what's causing the problem

Of course, there are a number of reasons why a door may squeak, and when you understand what the most common ones are, the problem becomes much easier to fix. So, come with us now as we examine not just how doors end up making these irritating sounds, but also how to stop it and which types of lubricant is best.

So, what makes a door squeak?

There may be occasions when your squeaky door is caused by wood rubbing against wood, but most often, it's the door hinges that are to blame. It could be that the hinge pin or other component has broken and needs replacing or more commonly, there could be a lack of lubrication that's leading to friction and noise.

The butt hinge is the most common variety

The most widely-found door hinge is the butt hinge, which comprises a simple two-leaf design and is followed closely by ball bearing hinges that are similarly constructed.

Other varieties include:

• Flush door hinges (found mainly on internal doors)

• Counter flap hinges (found on cabinet doors)

• Sprung hinges (found on cabinet doors)

• T-Hinges (usually found on gates & shed doors)

• Clip-on concealed hinges (again, found exclusively in cabinet doors)

Should you find that you're dealing with a broken door hinge, then you'll need a replacement, but if everything looks in good shape, it's time to consider lubrication.

How do you oil a squeaking door?

If you're lucky, then the issue you have will require no dismantling or hinge pin removal. In these cases, oiling the offending component should stop the noise. It starts by knowing where the annoying sound is actually coming from, which only takes you a few seconds. Just pull the door to and fro, and you should soon know where the friction is occurring.

ensuring your hinges are clean is an important first step

Getting rid of any dirt, dust, and grime build up is a vital step, as you don't want it to detract from the smooth, silent action you're wanting to restore to the door. This can be done quickly with a couple of sprays of diluted household cleaner and a wipe with a cloth.

You may also need to remove rust spots or residual paint first, meaning you might have to crack out the steel wool and rub it away (you can take care of this while it's still screwed into the door frame), but once that's clear, lubrication can begin in earnest.

lubricating door hinges is simple

There's a high probability that it will be just one of your door hinges that's causing the problem, but it could be both. That's why it's best to lubricate both.

Depending on the type of lubrication you use - and there are a number of options - your creaky door can be eliminated by spraying or decanting the substance over the hinge plates (with the door open), making sure to also cover the hinge pin.

What can you use to lubricate squeaky door hinges?

While there are a number of lubricating oil products available specifically designed to fix a squeaky door, there are a surprising number of other lubricants that work in your home. So, let's have a look at what might be sitting in your cupboards that you may be able to use to fix a squeaky hinge in your home.

Olive Oil

Our first lubrication option is olive oil, which most people have sitting in their kitchen cabinets. Olive oil is a substance that's more than able to take care of creaky or squeaky hinges due to its viscous nature.

Cooking oil will also do the job, but either one will be a bit messy if you don't decant a little into a pipette first. Then it's easy to squeeze a couple of drops over the clean hinge pin and let it do its work.

Vaseline a.ka. Petroleum Jelly

Another multi-purpose product you can use on squeaky doors is petroleum jelly. Most homes have a pot lying around because of how useful it is. Thanks to its oily properties, petroleum jelly is great for anyone looking to stop squeaky door hinges, although its consistency does make it difficult to get inside the hinge.

Remove the hinge pin to ensure good coverage

Vaseline isn't a liquid like oil, so you may have to think about removing the hinge pin (a 30-second job with a hammer) to ensure good coverage inside and out.

By covering the outside of the hinge and rubbing a good amount over the surface of your hinge pins and wiping away any excess grease with a damp cloth or paper towel, you'll quickly say goodbye to your squeaky door.

Paraffin candles

Did you know that melted wax also offers an effective way to fix a squeaky door? Well, it does when the candle wax comes from paraffin candles. The chances are, if you have any candles in your house, they're going to be paraffin candles. It's just a matter of getting the wax where it needs to be.

Again get coverage of your hinge pins

Petroleum based wax is going to be applied to your squeaky doors using the same process we described for vaseline. That means again taking out the hinge pins and other hinge parts so as to get good coverage.

Again, it can get a little messy, so be sure to have some kind of kitchen roll or clean rag ready to take care of any oily excess that may be left on the hinge's metal surfaces.

WD-40

One of the most commonly used types of lubrication, in general, is WD-40 - something you'll also find on the workbench in most auto garages.

It seems like a good option and it will work in most cases - at least for a while. The problem with WD-40 is that it's not just a lubricator - it's also a water displacer. It doesn't contain that much lubricant in truth and it can end up attracting dirt.

You can use it on your hinges and hinge pins, but it wouldn't be our first choice due to the issues mentioned and the fact it only works for a short time and needs to be continually reapplied.

Silicone Spray

A popular choice that many choose to stop doors making a squeaking sound is to spray the hinge with some silicone. Available at most good hardware stores, it's free from grease and oil and is safe to use on wood, metal, plastic, and rubber.

It is possible to use silicone spray to fix a squeak without dismantling anything, but if you want to be 100% sure everything's covered - and you have the time - taking out the hinge pins and spraying all the parts is the way to go.

Dish Soap

Believe it or not, another way to make your door squeak free and function properly is to use some regular dish soap. It's not the first lubricant you might think of, but there's easily enough lubrication provided by it if you coat all internal surfaces.

Again rubbed all over the metal pieces of your hinge, it can provide an easy fix to that annoying squeak that just won't quit.

Keeping Those Annoying Squeaks Away For Good!

So, it's clear that if you're dealing with a squeaky door, you may not have to take a trip to the DIY store to sort it out. As we've seen there are several alternatives that will spare you from that noise that grates on you every time someone opens or closes the door.

The fixes we've given you are easy to implement, even if you're not someone who's too familiar with DIY. The hardest part is removing the hinge pin, but when you know what you're doing, it's a very quick job.

We thank you for reading all the way to the end and we hope that doing so stops your squeaky door from causing irritation all day long.

Until next time!