“You can’t be stealthy with creaky floors

and the baby won’t sleep with squeaky doors.

Ya can’t take a nap in a creaky bed

and that squeaky shoe just messes up your head”

The opening lines of my latest rap? Seriously, we all deal with pesky squeaks. We find them everywhere, in our floors, doors, beds and more. They can be a real pain but most of them have easy, simple and inexpensive solutions.

I’m here to help you bring some quiet to your life with some squeak stopping tips.

Common Squeak Solutions

Kitchen drawers. Older drawers that have wood glides often end up squeaking as the dry wood rubs together. Use bar soap or bees wax on the runners and anywhere that the wood rubs together. This may need to be repeated over the years.

Doors. The most common solution to door squeaks is to spray the hinges with WD-40. While this may work well for most, the problem will likely return, especially on doors where moisture is present, such as laundry room doors. The best solution is to remove the hinge pins and coat them with wax or bar soap. While you have the hinge pins out, roll them on an even surface to see if they are bent. Bent pins can also cause squeaking.

Floors. Floor squeaks usually mean wood is rubbing on wood, often the sub-floor is rubbing on the joists. The best way to deal with this is to tighten the connection with screws, glue or nails. If you can see the joist and flooring from the basement, you may be able to add adhesive then using screws or special brackets pull the two together from underneath. Without this kind of access you need to work from above, through the flooring. First locate the floor joists using a hammer, listen for the ‘thud’ which indicates the joist. Verify by using a long nail in your drill (don’t use a drill bit on carpet – you’ll unravel the carpet). Once you have located the joist you can measure every 16” for the next. Now, using a special tripod tool and special ‘snap-off’ screws you can screw them through the carpet, vinyl or hardwoods. Most home improvement / hardware stores carry these tools and screws.

Faucets. Older faucets can make an unbearable squeak. Be sure to turn the water off at the shut-off valve, then unscrew the handle (place a cloth over the drain in case you drop something), then, using a wrench remove the valve. Clean the valve and apply a light coat of petroleum jelly (Vaseline). Reassemble.

Beds. Remove the mattress and box spring and test for the squeak. Sometimes they only squeak with weight on them. The best approach is to tighten all the bolts and look for areas where there are wood-to-wood connections. If the connections cannot be tightened, try adding wax or bar soap to the areas that rub. Frames made of metal can be oiled with WD-40 or Graphite.

Shoes. For leather dress shoes try this: remove the insole and apply hand lotion or mink oil to the sole. If the squeak is coming from the heel, inspect under the insole for loose nails. A couple of good taps with a hammer may tighten the heel. For tennis shoes try this: apply hand cream to the area where the tongue meets the shoe, you can also try to add talc under the insole. If the sole of the shoe has a liner under it, use a razor to cut a slit then insert talc or a thin layer of paper towel under the liner.

Spouses & Children. There are no known solutions.

Courtesy of Linnea Jones – Windermere Real Estate / Northeast, Inc. 425-765-2211