Use A Candle To Keep Doors And Windows From Sticking
Most often used for mood lighting, candles can do double duty keeping stubborn doors and windows from sticking and sliding doors gliding.
Photo by oskay.
While a sticky door or a window that just won’t open smothly isn’t as frequent of a problem in newer construction, older homes are much more susceptible to such issues. Wooden door and window frames expand and contract with the changes in humidity and temperature throughout the year causing a higher level of friction. Combine that with generations of paint that may or may not have been properly stripped down, a mixture of newer latex paint over stiffer oil paint, and/or a house that has settled with age shifting the dimensions of the frames ever so slightly, and you’ve got a recipe for doors that don’t close properly during the height of summer humidity and high temperatures. Permanent solutions are often a pain in the neck and require special care, such as removing the door and either stripping the decades of old paint off or even using a plane to shave down the edges of the offending door slice by careful slice to mate it properly to the frame. A few minutes with a candle and a little elbow grease can provide just the right amount of give to a stubborn door or window.
Wax is an excellent and cheap solid lubricant. Paraffin wax, the most common wax used in candles the world over, is also used in a variety of applications such as surfboard, ski and snowbaord wax to help reduce friction. Any chunk of wax will do for your project, but two particular shapes are best suited for particular tasks. Tea light candles are a perfect little size for doors and window frames, and taper candles work great for windows and doors with tracks like a sliding glass door. A white candle is best, even if the surface is a dark wood, you don’t want to add any colour into the mix and the white wax will be spread so thin it won’t be noticeable.
Start off by holding the candle in your hand for a few minutes to slightly soften it. Gently rub the candle over the surface—the puck shape of the tealight is great for briskly rubbing over the wide frame of a door or window and the pencil like shape of the tapered candle is great for pressing into the grooves of a sliding glass door track. After about 30 seconds, test the door or window out and continue to rub in some wax if it still sticks a little.
If a door frame has settled so much that the door itself smacks the frame, a candle wax rub down won’t save you from some weekend handyman work. For most sticky and squeaky old doors and windows however, it gets the job done for mere pennies. If you have handy trick of your own for home repairs, sound off in the comments.
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@warmth: I think you took a wrong turn somewhere!
I don't like messing up good candles. I bought a chunk of paraffin from the canning-supplies section of a grocery store more than 15 years ago and haven't even come close to using 1/4 of it yet. Our front door gets squeaky now and again (door rubbing on beat-up aluminum doorsill) and I just rub the paraffin block on the doorsill and that fixes it immediately.
@gapo: yeah but after you open and close it a couple times it fixes itself.
shibathedog
I decided to take a candle to the runners of my garage doors. They no longer screech as they're raised. I'm sure the neighbors appreciate your tip as much as I do!
Jurandr
@miaousse:
Wow, that tip really made my kitchen a lot easier to use. Thanks!
Jurandr
@[www.wikihow.com]
This is a brilliant tip! We have an old house with wooden windows on metal glides. One window in particular typically involve two or more hands, a lot of swearing and some ungodly squeaking to get open. Ten seconds with a tea light and it's like a brand new window. Thanks!
Bill Janes
@McGrep:
WD-40 is great for displacing water, but really NOT a good lubricant at all. That's why you have to keep reapplying it. Try some light oil or silicon lubricant and it will last MUCH longer.
Surf wax is used to increase your traction on top of the board (a sprinkle of sand helps mixed in) and it makes the board glide better in the water too.
R_M_Freeman
You can also light a match and use it to ignite the wick end of a candle and use it to produce a small amount of light. Just kidding, I am about to try this on the windows in my old house.
Corby Hilley
@Jason Fitzpatrick: Living in the north now, I think you've just made it clear to me why many people think the same thing. Having been raised in a coastal town, it didn't make sense to me why anyone would think it goes on the bottom.
jupiterthunder
@LenPict: Not being a surfer, I always assumed the wax was applied to smooth over imperfections in the underbody and decrease friction, much like ski wax. The wax is applied to the top of the board?
Wax is what skateboarders use to be able to grind better on any surface so i guess this would work good.
JemimaNardz
Actually this works very poorly for surfaces which need to pull apart like a window which is opened with a crank, the wax acts more like a glue than a lubricant. It does work OK for things like zippers and rollers. Wax is definitely not a lubricant, not sure where he gets that idea. He's obviously never tried any of this, I've learned the hard way over the years about this myth. What will work for sliding wood windows as well as those which open with a crank is floor wax (an extremely thin layer) but NOT because it acts as a lubricant. Painted windows tend to be glued by the paints which get soft when warm (even if years old) and the paint on the 2 sides bond together. The floor wax prevents that bonding and therefore reduces (but does not totally eliminate) the sticking. Where it could work, though poorly compared to the alternatives, is in the cracks of a sliding door as he mentions. However what will work much better is a Teflon lubricant. It will last much longer and provide much less friction. WD-40 is a penetrent, not a lubricant. The above mentioned teflon (or moly) based lubricant will work much better on the door hinges. Wax on the sled (or skiis) works by creating a water film between the sled and the snow, it is not lubricating the surfaces.
TannerCushy
You can also use candles on the sliding part of wood drawers.
miaousse
rubbing a candle on the blade of a saw will help ease it and stop it sticking as you cut.....I got this tip from an old joiner....it works.
When we last moved, our home inspector recommended using ArmorAll wipes to lubricate all of the window tracks. They come in a small canister similar to baby wipes. Worked great.
This is one of the purposes for which they used to make "household wax".
penguiniator
TIP: If you have a lock that is getting hard to open or the key is getting stuck - light a birthday candle and let the melter wax drop onto the side of your key. Then slide the key in and out of the lock several times. Repeat this process and you'll have a key/lock nirvana.
VeronicaBuzzard
You forgot to list TagScanner. Is the best for me!
warmth
Just tried this on my basement door and it worked like a charm.
EchoAlpha
@McGrep: WD-40 is NOT a lubricant. It is in essence pressurized kerosene. What it is doing is washing away the dust which is causing the squeaking. I would suggest trying to find something like Tri-Flo, which is a oil w/teflon. I've done my door(s) once, and 4 years later still no squeaks.
@LenPict: I thought it repelled the water, which made the fiberglass of the board less slippery than if it was wet w/water.
This tip also works a treat on wooden chests of drawers which don't have runners (either metal or the cheap-o plastic ones), it keeps the drawers moving very nicely.
Usually, our doors don't stick. However, they are agonizingly squeaky. So, a few shots of WD-40 on the hinges and they're good for months.
doubt it though ... the wax if not uniform would increase friction in the case of sliding doors...
@LenPict:
That would be relative to the surface to which it is being applied. On a surfboard, it definitely increases the friction, but on something else it could create a decrease. Think about it this way. If you're playing basketball in the gym, would you want to coat the bottom of your shoe with surfwax?
jupiterthunder
@JadeEmperor: EDIT: make that "candle wax" not sticks. (wished LH have an edit button)
I found that using pencil graphite works really well for darker/colder surfaces. Takes a few days though.
Evan Barker
in the old days, we also use candle sticks to unstuck a stuck trouser zippers coz back then they were made of metal that also rusts.
In the Winter, growing up in Buffalo, New York, we used candle wax on the runners of our sleds to improve downhill speed...
isn't it applied on the bottom side to prevent the water from sticking on, thus getting beter performance ? (i really don't know for sure :p)
LouiseAphareus
Candles also help unstuck tight nylon zippers in bags, pants, etc.. Just rubbing the wax over the two lines helps it become smoother again.
JazzyMatchu
Actually, I'm relatively sure surfboard wax is to increase friction. It's there so you don't slip off the board.
LenPict
@VeronicaBuzzard:
Wax + lock tumblers = visit from a locksmith.
If the wax works it's way into the tumblers it can cause jamming and all kinds of pricey nightmares,
Graphite powder however, will settle away from the tumblers and not cause them to jam 6 months down the line.
Disclosure: I was a locksmith in a former life.
eldorel
@LouiseAphareus: no.
Mar Charbel
@McGrep:
Wd-40 is addictive. After a few applications of wd-40, it tends to collect and attract more dirt, thus causing the door/window/hinge to stick again much faster than if it were clean.
Requireing another shot of wd-40 to "fix" it. Rinse, repeat.
eldorel
@miaousse: once again Armour All comes to the rescue. but probably not after waxing...although maybe. wax could be oil soluble
@framitz: i like using Armour All as a lubricant.
not that kind of lubricant...
@BruceBarber: my dad used to spray the bottom of my saucer with floor wax, i was a small kid but i got down the hill faster than everyone else.
@LenPict: Zog's Sex wax is for surfboards? OOOOOOOHHHHHH! we used to chew on it.
@wewillchange: What you mean???
warmth
I pretty much agree. You can solve a pesky tough sliding patio door with a little Pam cooking spray. Glides like a hot knife through butter! :) @TannerCushy:
@warmth:
I'm always amazed at how that happens. Then I remember feed readers.
jupiterthunder
@mfusion: Well, at least you weren't doing the obvious misuse.
jupiterthunder
@shibathedog: hmm ...should try it out then
@JazzyMatchu: Hah! Perfect timing. This pair of pants just got way nicer!
gman2093
@Starcatcher needs a new computer: D! my bad... :P is Auto Pager extension for Firefox fault! Sorry about it!
warmth
@Corby Hilley:
Wait...really?! I have to go try that out!
@warmth:
Um...we mean that your comment has absolutely nothing to do with the article.
If any of you live near a Bass Pro Shop or Cabelas, go to the archery section and ask for wax for your string. It's softer than candle wax and rubs right on if you rub the tube in your hand for a few minutes.
mlhoward516
@McGrep: For metal lubrication, I use white lithium grease. (You can get it in a spray can, so it's as easy to use as WD-40.) Great for doors, hinges, locks; any place where you want long-lasting smooth metal-on-metal movement.
Agreed with the other commenters that WD-40 is an excellent cleaner, but a lousy lubricant.
bobbo33
This is an excellent tip! I just tried it on my squeaky old bedroom door-- now I won't have to wake up and freak out in the middle of the night when I forget to shut the window on a windy night.
Argentum
Yes, candles work for sliding windows. Also, I have found bar soap to work.
TownyArt
I use a bar of soap instead of a candle... works great
out2late