We all have them .. doors that screech and squeal as we open them but for about 50 cents you can say goodbye to them forever.
Many people try spray lubricants or or a can of oil but all they end up doing is covering the outside of the hinge with dust collecting slime. There are companies that will try to sell you special powders that you are suppose to spray on your hinges and then there are people that resort to ear plugs… you don’t have to do that.
Normally a hinge will not squeak if it is well lubricated. The lubrication is put on at the factory or when the door is installed. Eventually the lubrication will need to be replaced of if it was never lubricated by the installer you will have to take your hinges apart and do it yourself.
Luckily lubricating a hinge is not that difficult.
To stop the squeal you will need some basic tools.
- An old flat head screwdriver or chisel
- A small nail that will fit in the hole of the bottom of the hinge
- A Hammer
- A packet of Brake Grease you can get at the auto store
- Some paper towels
- Some Cardboard to place under the door to support it or a rubber door wedge that you use to keep the door open.
Fixing a Squeaky Door
Once you have everything you need open the door about a foot wide from the inside so you can get to your hinges.
Place the rolled up cardboard or door stop under the door knob end of the door to lift it slightly .. you don’t want to force it up and bind it you just want to raise the door so it is not hanging on its hinges because removing the hing pin will be harder if it is hanging.
You will need to remove each hinge pin and coat it with the break grease. You want to do one at a time that way the door will remain aligned and the job will be easier.
If the hinge pin has already lifted from the hinge you are ready to tap out one pin at a time.
If the pin wont come out easy then you can use the nail to tap through the hole on the bottom to get the pin started.
SECURITY HINGES CAN NOT HAVE THEIR PINS REMOVED.. so don’t try hammering on a security hinge if there is no access hole on the bottom of the hinge where the pin goes inside. If a security hinge goes bad you need to replace it.. however they should be well lubricated at the factory.
Tap the pin out by putting the tip of the screw driver under the head and tapping lightly with your hammer. It should come out pretty easy
Clean the hinge pin with a paper towel. You want to remove all the grease because it probably has some fine metal in it from where the pin wore on the hinge. The metal particulate in the hinge grease will act like sand paper on the hinge making it wear faster so clean it all off.
To lubricate the pin you want to fold up a piece of paper towel and place a small dab of grease in the center then wrap the towel around the pin and pull it through the grease. Squeeze the towel lightly or you will end up wiping it off rather then coating the pin.
Before you insert the pin back in the hinge place a small dot the size of a vegetable pea in the top of the hinge hole so when you slide the hinge pin back in it will force the grease through the hole.
Be ready for some grease to squeeze out the bottom of the hinge and possibly the gaps.
After a couple days you want to come back and wipe the hinge down to remove any excess grease that has come out of the hinge.
Final Note
If you use a spray lubricant or light oil on your hinges you will end up with a mess when the grease that is already in the hinge leaks out over the next couple days. It will leak onto your carpet or floor and cause you problems..
But worse then causing a mess the spray lubricant will eventually all come free from the hinge and your door will begin to squeak again in a few days or weeks making you think you need to replace the hing or that there is no cure.
Grease will stay in the hinge and although it may get full of metallic particles in 5 or 10 years requiring re-lubrication it could last for the life of the door.
Automotive Break grease is probably the highest quality grease you can get for a reasonable cost. It works in high temperatures in bad conditions such as road salt and rain so it will last. It is sold in ketchup sized packets at all automotive parts stores for about a dollar or less and one packet can do a house full of doors.