A door that is left ajar catches a slight breeze – can be from an HVAC vent, an open window, a draft that enters the room from beneath another door, or a faint rush of wind that often occurs when a roommate or family member walks past it – and abruptly slams closed.
The unexpected sound is startling to most people.
If it keeps occurring, you may become desensitized to surprises, and instead, start to find the slamming sound to be irritating.
As such, a slamming door is one of the top annoyances in any home.
Short Answer: How Can You Stop Your Roommate And Family From Slamming Doors?
Your approach can depend on the cause of this problem. Maybe the door is out of its plumb (as in, it is not perfectly vertical). Changes in pressure too can cause it to slam closed – this normally occurs when the window or another door is open to permit air to move from high pressure to the low-pressure region. Sometimes it results from faulty hinges. Then there are cases a person would slam the door for no apparent reason.
Eight Ways To Prevent Doors From Slamming
1. Use a rubber band
A rubber band should be the first remedy to cross your mind before even figuring out any permanent solution. It is probably the handiest, cheapest, and most effective way to pad your door every time a family member or roommate walks out.
Plus, it is more practical, simple, and super easy to install.
Once you open your door, you should easily place the band around the door handle, then stretch it slightly below and above the latch until it reaches the other side.
Because it’s wrapped around your door, it will produce a bumper effect and prevent your door from slamming the frame.
2. Install Felt Pads
Felt pads are self-adhering and offer perhaps the cheapest solution to door slams. Buy a few and stick them along the edges of your door frame.
Furthermore, consider placing two or three small pads on the strike plates of the door.
These felt pads are going to act as cushions by slowing down the speed of the closing door.
That way, they will prevent it from slamming on the frames more effectively than rubber bands.
Better yet, they may completely absorb even the slightest sound produced when the door slams them.
3. Automatic door closer
An automatic door closer is designed to shut the door automatically behind the person closing it.
There are many different types of this handy ‘shut smoother,’ but we highly recommend the surface-mounted type, as it is the easiest to assemble and install.
Choose one made of aluminum or steel instead of hardened plastic for enhanced reliability and durability.
The pressure and speed of an auto-door closer can be easily adjusted, meaning that you have total control over the rate and force with which the door closes and opens, thus preventing those annoying slams.
To cancel out the slamming problem, consider adjusting the device to an appropriate pressure and speed setting best for your needs.
4. Door Seals
Door seals resemble rolled-up towels. Place them beneath the slamming door. Although they are primarily designed to stop drafts and cover gaps, you can utilize them for reducing the pressure with which the door hits the frame.
Even better, you can make your own lovely door seals as a simple DIY project or opt to order them on the internet instead.
In most cases, the supplier will provide you with a pair of items in the same or different design, all depending on your likings.
Note that door seals work very much like a linen or bigger piece of cloth between the door and the frame or floor.
5. Weather Stripping kit
Very much like foam strips, weather stripping kits are a perfect way of downing two birds with a single stone.
First, they help you prevent the door from slamming by placing a cushion at the meeting point between the frame and the door.
Second, they are great for home insulation, preventing the penetration of cold air from outside through the door.
That second benefit is their main function, after all. It can greatly help solve door slamming as well.
As mentioned earlier, one of the top causes of door slamming is outdoor gusts of wind or pressure imbalances created by a person opening the door on their way in or out.
An effective method of dealing with this is to stop the wind from blowing into the room regardless of the cause.
An airtight seal is all you need to stop this, and that is what the weather stripping technique is all about.
Besides keeping winds at bay, weatherstripping is an excellent soundproofing agent.
Door slamming doesn’t stop at annoying you, the whole process may also ruin the frame in the long run. The slams can also be loud, so it will take care of that as well.
Are you scratching your head wondering where you could get some great weather stripping kits?
6. Inspect your hinges
The door’s hinges may be the source of the entire trouble. So, take your time to inspect them and ensure they are free from rust and are in perfect working conditions.
Also, check whether they are too loose. If the hinges aren’t installed properly in the correct way or they are worn out, the door is more likely to be imbalanced.
The resultant imbalance may result in severe slamming whenever the door is closed.
To check your hinges, open the door to an angle of about 90-degrees and put a level on its top. If the door is not level, try all you can to tighten the hinges without damaging them.
If this fails to work, the hinges might be irreparably worn out, and replacing them with a new set may be the best you could do to solve the slamming problem.
Note that you don’t really need to remove the door completely to change the bad hinges.
Start by replacing the topmost hinge then, using a level, tighten the hinge’s screws until your door is in a vertical position.
Once the topmost hinge is installed properly, replace the bottom one, again, using a level and tightening the screws until the door is completely level.
7. Bumper
Bumpers are another easy and cheap ways of slowing the door by preventing the knob from coming into contact or hitting the wall.
Buy this product (mostly made of rubber, foam, or plastic) to the point where the doorknob comes into contact with the wall.
In most cases, you get four in a set. They are inexpensive like water and can provide both temporary and permanent solution to door slamming. Also, the installation process is straightforward.
Summary
So, how can you stop your roommate and family from slamming doors? It’s easy actually, you just need to buy the right ‘anti-slamming’ device and you’ll have all the peace of mind you deserve. It can depend on the source of the problem though.
A rubber band should be the first remedy to cross your mind before even figuring out any permanent solution.
- It is also the handiest, cheapest, and most effective way to pad your door every time a family member or roommate walks out
- Open your door, place it around the door handle, then stretch it slightly below and above the latch until it reaches the other side – the door won’t slam anymore
Felt pads are self-adhering and offer perhaps the cheapest solution to door slams.
- Buy a few and stick them along the edges of your door frame.
- Also, consider placing two or three small pads on the strike plates of the door
An automatic door closer is designed to shut the door automatically behind the person closing it.
- The pressure and speed of an auto-door closer can be easily adjusted, meaning that you have total control over the rate and force with which the door closes and opens, thus preventing those annoying slams
- To cancel out the slamming problem, consider adjusting the device to an appropriate pressure and speed setting best for your needs.
Door seals resemble rolled-up towels.
- Place them beneath the slamming door. Although they are primarily designed to stop drafts and cover gaps, you can utilize them for reducing the pressure with which the door hits the frame.
- You also make your own lovely door seals as a simple DIY project or opt to order them on the internet instead.
Just like foam strips, weather stripping kits are a perfect way of downing two birds with a single stone.
- Firstly, they help you prevent the door from slamming by placing a cushion at the meeting point between the frame and the door.
- Secondly, they are great for home insulation, preventing the penetration of cold air from outside through the door.
The door’s hinges may be the source of the entire trouble – take your time to inspect them and ensure they are free from rust and are in perfect working conditions
Bumpers are another easy and cheap ways of slowing the door by preventing the knob from coming into contact or hitting the wall.