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Home maintenance and repairs

Squeaky door hinge

A door hinge that creaks or squeals as the door swings. The usual fix is to take out the hinge pin, clean it, lubricate it and put it back.

What It Means

A squeaky door hinge is one that creaks or squeals when the door opens and closes. The Home Depot and 3-IN-ONE both treat it as a lubrication job centered on the hinge pin, the rod that runs through the hinge's knuckles: take the pin out, clean it, lubricate it and put it back, one hinge at a time, while something supports the door.

Try It: Quiet a Hinge Step by Step

Six steps for one hinge, from The Home Depot and 3-IN-ONE. Repeat for each hinge that squeaks.

1. Protect the floor

Lay a drop cloth or rag under the door to catch drips.

Step1of 6

How It Sounds at Home

  • "The bedroom door squeaks every time the baby's asleep."
  • "Grab the lube, that hinge is at it again."
  • "Pull the pin and grease it."

The Breakdown

How to fix it

  1. Lay a drop cloth or rag under the door to catch any drips, as 3-IN-ONE suggests.
  2. Set a piece of wood under the bottom edge to support it, so it doesn't sag or fall when the pin comes out.
  3. Hold a slotted screwdriver against the underside of the pin head and tap it upward with a hammer. A stuck pin can be pushed out from below with a 16-penny nail.
  4. Clean the pin.
  5. Apply a lubricant to the pin and the hinge knuckles. The Home Depot suggests a dry lube for moving parts like hinges, and WD-40 makes its white lithium grease for hinges and other metal-to-metal parts.
  6. Put the pin back, then open and close the door a few times to test.

Work one hinge at a time. Buhata's own suggestion: leave the other hinges' pins in place while you work, so the door stays hung.

Try it today. Open and close every door in the house and note which ones squeak. Then fix them one after another while the supplies are out.

Good to Know

Follow the lubricant's label, including anything it says about ventilation. A door that still squeaks after lubricating, or that sticks, drags or won't latch, needs a different fix, and The Home Depot's "How to Fix an Interior Door" is a place to start. Buhata's own suggestion: keep the lubricant with your other home supplies so it's at hand for the next squeak.

FAQ

What's the best thing to put on a squeaky door hinge?

A lubricant made for hinges. The Home Depot points to dry lubes, and WD-40 makes its white lithium grease for hinges and other metal-to-metal parts. Follow the product's label.

Do I have to take the door off to fix a squeaky hinge?

No. Support the door with a piece of wood under its bottom edge, then tap out one hinge pin at a time, clean it, lubricate it and put it back.

How do you get a stuck hinge pin out?

Tap it upward from under the pin head with a slotted screwdriver and a hammer. If that doesn't work, push it out from below with a 16-penny nail.

Do It in Buhata

Maintenance and Tasks with a repeat

Add "Lubricate squeaky door hinges" to Maintenance in your Household X add-on once a year, so it rolls forward each time you tick it.

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Related Terms and Categories

  • Squeaky floor

    A floor that creaks underfoot, often where the subfloor has pulled away from a joist. Most squeaks can be quieted by fastening the floor down.

  • Weatherstripping

    Strips of material fitted around doors and windows that open and close, sealing the gaps where air leaks in and out.

  • Seasonal home maintenance

    Home upkeep sorted by time of year, so each job lands when the weather suits it and before the system it protects is needed most.

  • Punch list

    A list of the small unfinished or faulty items left at the end of a building or remodeling job that the contractor must fix before the work counts as done.

  • Drywall patch

    A repair that fills a dent, crack or hole in drywall with spackling or joint compound, often over a mesh patch, then sands, primes and repaints it.

Home maintenance and repairs

Sources

The Home Depot, "How to Fix an Interior Door"; 3-IN-ONE, "How to Fix Squeaky Doors"; WD-40, "White Lithium Protective Grease Spray"; The Home Depot, "Best Lubricants for Your Project"

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