Taking the Squeak out of a Squeaky Door Hinge

How to Lubricate a Squeaky Door Hinge

It's a stock sound in every horror movie, one that even appears within Michael Jackson's iconic song "Thriller." We're talking about the sound of a squeaking door hinge. While the sound may be great for a Hallowe'en haunted house, you probably son't want to listen to it every time you open the closet door - or worse, the bathroom door.

The mess left by a little squirt of
graphite (photo: author)

Most people will wander out into their garage and grab a can of WD40 to attack the door - but you should know better by now! The active ingredient in WD40 penetrates and sucks moisture out of tight spaces, but it doesn't actually lubricate -- it's the material the active ingredients are dissolved in that lubricates, and that solvent will evaporate in time. In other words, it doesn't last and the hinge will sooner than later start squeaking again. Besides, using WD40 is, frankly, rather messy.

Neither of the previous owners (ptui!) of my last two houses knew how to lubricate a squeaky hinge. One sprayed on WD-40 and the other used the graphite you squirt into locks. Both of them made a mess, and by the time we'd moved into the house the doors were squeaking again. Why? at least in part because they'd done it wrong. Here's how to do it right, with only a few minutes' work: