There are few things better than an open window in the house for fresh air, that is, until the wind slams your door shut and ruins the tranquility. There’s a reason why someone slamming a door is seen as a sign of disrespect. The loud noise is almost certain to bother just about anyone.
However, the sound isn’t the only negative result of a door getting slammed. It can also cause structural damage to the door’s hinges and even the door frame. In addition, each time a door gets slammed, it gets closer to being destroyed; it can take the door out of alignment completely.
Furthermore, it can be dangerous! A child’s fingers could be injured with the quick slam of door. Luckily there are some easy ways to solve this problem.
We will educate you on all there is to know about the most effective ways to preventing your door or doors from slamming, including some DIY projects if you’re feeling motivated, as well as some simple things you can buy off of Amazon. So read on to learn everything you need to know about how to prevent your doors from slamming shut.
What causes Door Slams?
To start, it’s essential for us to know: “How and why do doors slam?” While it’s obvious why doors slam when someone has just closed it a bit too hard, there are some other common reasons for it as well. Learning how and why a door may slam will bring us closer to finding a solution to fix the problem.
- Air Pressure Changes: While it’s nice to let some fresh air into the house, having your window open could be the culprit of a slamming door. When air moves from a high-pressure area, i.e., your home, to a low-pressure area, i.e., outside your home, the pressure change can cause the air to slam your door shut.
- Faulty Door Hinges: Door hinges are meant to control how a door opens and closes. When door hinges a or hinge screws aren’t installed properly or damaged, it can slam the door even if a person seems to be closing the door gently.
- Out of Plumb: When referring to a door as “out of plumb”, it simply means that the door was not installed correctly in a perfectly vertical line. The unevenness of the door can cause it to swing on its own due to its gravity and the air pressure in the house. This can be extremely bad for the door’s hinges and may also result in structural damage to the door frame.
10 Ways to Prevent Doors from Slamming?
1. Replace the Hinges
Perhaps one of the most practical solutions is simply replacing the door’s hinges with new hinges. Faulty hinges are one of the main culprits in a consistently slamming door.
While tightening the door’s hinges will make some difference, it will not correct the problem entirely. If the hinges on your door are worn out or broken, it’s essential to replace them entirely to prevent the door from slamming shut.
While replacing hinges won’t stop people from slamming doors on their own, it will undoubtedly make it harder to do and help provide support to the door frame as well.
Without including labor costs, replacing your door hinges typically will range between $5-$20.
2. Door stoppers
One of the easiest ways to prevent a slamming door is to place a door slam stopper at the bottom of the door. Thankfully, you don’t need to be handy around the house or be tech-savvy to use a doorstop.
The door stop doesn’t only need to be for functionality. On Amazon, many decorative and unique door stops will add a bit of personality to the room. However, most importantly, it will help protect your door’s hinges and frame from getting impact damage from slamming and prevent it in the first place.
Door stops are often very cheap, with most only costing around $1o and under. However, there are some more expensive door stops on the market that may cost you about $20-$25.
3. Weather Stripping Kits
A weather-stripping kit is a relatively inexpensive option to prevent a door from slamming shut. In addition, the kits are relatively easy to install on the door with just a little research and a couple of common tools.
There are many different types of weather-stripping door kits available today. The door kits even come in multiple different style options depending on what kind of door and door frame you have.
Some of the options include: wrapped foam strips metal flange, wrapped foam wood flange, and vinyl bulb metal flange. All will work relatively the same, and it is up to your personal preference on which to use, as well as the style of your door.
The purpose of weather stripping a door is to seal any openings where air might be able to leak through. Sealing these leaks will bring you closer to not having your door randomly slamming shut on its own, as it will prevent the pesky air pressure changes that are the cause of random shutting.
While the door seals price ranges depend on various factors such as material and quality of the product, if you’re looking to get a weather stripping kit for your slamming door, it will cost you somewhere in the range of $15-$40.
4. Felt Pads
Felt pads are a cheap yet super effective solution to fixing your door woes. You’ve probably seen them attached to the bottom of furniture to keep it from scraping the floor, but attaching them to your door is yet another use.
You don’t need tools or technical knowledge, as they are just puffy stickers. The felt pad will create a barrier between the door and the door frame, so if it does get shut hard, the sound will be muffled.
Another benefit of felt pads for your door is that unlike a few of the other options, they are easily reusable and mistake-friendly. As long as the bottom of the felt pad is still sticky, you can readjust it on the frame and reuse them as needed.
Using a felt pad to prevent your door from getting shut too hard is definitely one of the cheapest items on this entire list. Purchasing these will typically only cost you $3-$5 for a multipack of them.
5. Door Silencers
Another common, affordable product to keep your doors from slamming shut is a door silencer. Door silencers attach to the frame of your door. All it requires from you is knowing how to use a drill.
Door silencers are relatively easy to install and are drilled into your door frame. The silencers resemble some sort of cone.
The door silencer works because the cone part of the device inserted inside the frame acts as a shock absorber. Additionally, a little part of the rubber stays atop the door frame to prevent slamming while still allowing the door to be closed.
Luckily, door silencers will barely put a dent in your wallet as they’re typically just slightly more than felt pads, costing around $6-8 for a multipack of them.
6. Pinch Guards
A Door pinch guard or finger pinch guards are popularly used to help people “baby-proof” their homes as they prevent doors from being fully closed. However, if you’re tired of your doors slamming by themselves, pinch guards will completely prevent it from happening.
Another great thing about pinch guards is their simple installation; just attach the guard to either side of your door frame. Then, the pinch guard can be taken off the door with ease in case you change your mind or want to put the guard on a different door.
One downside to a pinch guard is that it prevents the door from closing fully, and if you want your doors to be closed, this will not benefit you.
Pinch guards are also rather cheap and typically come in multipacks, in case you want one for each door. So your total for a standard quality multipack of pinch guards for your door will ordinarily not even reach past $10.
7. Hydraulic and Pneumatic Door Closers
The most expensive option on the list is hydraulic and pneumatic door closers. A hydraulic door closer and a pneumatic door closer both do the same thing, but the way they go about it is different.
Essentially, when a door is opened, the spring inside the closer compresses, and the spring pulls the door shut when the door is closed. The only difference is the medium of shock absorption used in each, hydraulic door closers use a liquid, and pneumatic closers use air.
While both are more expensive, pneumatic closers typically cost less than hydraulic door closers. In addition, pneumatic closers are better for doors with a weight range of light-medium, while hydraulic doors are sturdier and better for heavy doors.
A standard hydraulic door closer may cost you between $50-$150, while a pneumatic door closer will typically cost you somewhere in the range of $20-$50.
8. Rubber Bands
Mostly everyone has some sort of rubber band lying around their house, and fixing your slamming door with one, won’t require many technical skills. In order to fix the door with this household staple, all you need to do is to hook the rubber band on the door knob on both sides of the door.
The rubber band acts similarly to felt pads. It cushions the door from the frame when it’s shut and muffles the sound of slamming. We’re confident this is the easiest solution to get you closer to fixing your door problems; it can be done in seconds, costs little to nothing, and most people already have everything needed for the project at home!
However, if you don’t have any rubber bands on hand to fix your doors, you can typically get large multipacks for less than $3.
9. Door Closer Cushions
Door closer cushions are a relatively new option to fix your slamming door that is wildly available on Amazon. Closer cushions not only muffle slamming sounds but also allow you to close and open the door without even turning the door knob.
Closer cushions look similar to a mask, as it’s a cushion with two loops on either side. Once you receive the product, installation is simple as you simply attach each loop onto both sides of the door knobs.
One thing to keep in mind about door closer cushions is that they will prevent doors from latching, so if it is necessary for you to keep doors shut or locked, there may be better options for you. However, if you are okay with leaving them to un-shut, you will generally be able to purchase a cushion closer for your door for between $10-$15.
10. Stick Gel Door Bumpers
Stick gel bumpers are yet another easy and cheap option in order to prevent your door from slamming shut. There are no tools necessary in order to install it, just peel and stick it on the door and door frame!
Another benefit to the gel bumpers is their ability to be easily removed, as well as easily adjusted in case you’ve placed it wrong. The gel bumper works by cushioning the door from the frame, so that in the case of the door slamming shut, the sound will be muffled and un-alarming.
A pack of stick gel bumpers for your door will typically only cost you about $10 or less.
Wrapping it Up
While there are many reasons for a door slamming shut, there are, fortunately, many anti-door slam products to prevent it from happening. Whether the door is being slammed due to human error, a faulty mechanism and installation of the door, or simply due to the weather, we’ve shown you the vast options available to fix it.
A slamming door is an extremely frustrating noise. The good news is we’re certain that after reading this article, you’ll be equipped with all the knowledge you need to never hear a loud bang from a slammed door in your home again.
Related:
