Even though the reality of a door constantly slamming is nothing as scary as you might see in the movies, it can still be starling and quickly become an annoyance in your home. There are various reasons why you may find that doors in your home constantly slam. Understanding why is definitely the first step to realizing what steps you need to take in order to stop this annoyance in your home.

The annoyance that comes with a door that is slamming all the time is not the only matter of concern here. If you have children or pets in the house, this can actually become a danger and cause harm to your loved ones. We look at some of the best methods that you should consider using if you want to learn how to stop doors from slamming.

Understand Why Your Doors Are Slamming

If you want to learn how to stop doors from slamming around the house, then you need to know why this is happening first. Without a thorough understanding of the possible causes behind a slamming door – and by doing some investigation to identify specific problems that are affecting your door – you won’t be able to rectify the issue at hand effectively.

First of all, one of the most critical factors that you need to take into account is whether you keep them open or closed during the day. A closed-door might make some noise on a windy day, but if the latch is in a working condition, it will not slam. Keeping your doors open, like many people tend to do, can cause slamming.

When you do leave your doors open, there are two main reasons why you may find that the door keeps slamming throughout the day. Let’s take a quick moment to consider each of these:

  • First, take a look if there are any windows open in the area surrounding the door. When you have open windows nearby, then the air pressure will become lower, similar to the level outside your home. When the air pressure is reduced enough, it can cause your doors to slam – especially if you leave your windows open on a windy day.
  • Another important reason to take note of is a door that is not fitted correctly. A door needs to be installed in such a way that it has perfect vertical alignment. If you fail to get that excellent level of alignment in its vertical position, then it will be uneven. In turn, this will likely cause you to find that the door frequently swings, as the weight is not distributed in an even way like it should be. The swinging motion of the door will then cause slamming.

In many cases, both of the factors we described above will be present at the same time. This can cause a significant elevation in the frustration that comes with a slamming door in the house.

The Best Solutions to Stopping Your Doors from Slamming

Now that we have considered why your door may be slamming, the next step is to share a few useful tips that will help you prevent that. It should be noted that every method does not work for all situations. You will need to carefully analyze your specific scenario and choose the most appropriate method.

Before you go out to buy special products that will help to keep your door in place while open, consider first taking a look at any issues that might be causing the door to keep slamming. A common problem found with these doors would be an issue with the vertical alignment.

The alignment in its vertical position helps to improve the weight distribution of the door – in turn, this makes it easier to open and close the door, and reduce the risk of a swinging door. If you find that the door that keeps slamming is not properly aligned, then start by fixing this problem. You might have to take the door out, remove the hinges, and do some investigating to find out why it is not aligned.

1. Adjust the Metal Plate

If the sound you hear when you close the door isn’t like a normal slam and sounds more like a grinding, the problem may be that the metal plate the latch sits in is misaligned. This would cause loud grinding and potential slamming.

This can happen in older doors or if it was installed poorly, and can be fixed by simply unscrewing the plate from its place and trying to realign it better where it won’t slam. It is a little more involved a fix than simply putting the door cushion over it, but if you want a one time more permanent fix, adjusting the metal plate may be the best solution.

2. Check the Hinges

Just as the metal plate, if the hinges have been installed wrong or worn over time it can cause the door to close and slam on its own. The best way to solve this, aside from muffling the sound with the other solutions on this list, is to fix the hinges themselves.

It will require some trial and error, but if you open your door at a 90-degree angle and set a level against the latch, you should be able to tell if the door is not properly sitting on its hinges. Tightening the screws may be all you need to do to solve this problem, but if age has worn the hinges a bit beyond repair, it is best just to replace them altogether. This will solve the door closing on its own and potentially slamming as it does.

3. Install a Door Stopper

If you really like having the windows open in the warmer months, but the flow of air through your home is causing the doors to slam, a doorstop is the perfect solution. They come in many different forms, some are built into the wall behind the door and hold it open from behind, and others are simple plastic or wood wedges for beneath the door.

Both are fantastic solutions for this problem, the beneath the door style wood or plastic wedges are best if there are no small children in the house to hold it open. Those doorstops don’t prevent a child from taking them out and accidentally locking themselves in the room. The door stops built into the wall to hold it open are harder for a child to figure out, and are out of the way solutions that prevent accidentally being pushed out from beneath the door.

  • If you are on a low budget or you do not feel like spending a lot of money, consider something basic. A set of the Wundermax Door Stoppers can keep your doors from slamming all the time – even when there is a strong wind. These door stoppers come with rubber padding on the bottom. They feature a simple flat part in the front that simply slides underneath your door.
  • If you want to protect your walls, you might also want to consider installing something like the Jack N’ Drill 15-Pack Door Stopper. They are installed on the wall that your door opens toward – and will provide a software surface for the door to bump against. This can help to preserve a great paint job on the wall and also reduce damage dealt to the door when it slams.
  • Apart from the products that we mentioned above, there are also some doorstoppers that will add character to your house while reducing the slamming of your doors. An excellent example of such a product would be the Elements Bull Door Stopper. This is a relatively heavy plaid dog that is 10 inches in length. You simply place it in front of your door when open, and it will provide support to help eliminate the risk of your door slamming shut. This particular door stopper is available in several alternative options, including a bear, penguin, cat, and even a wolf. Simply choose the animal-based door stopper that you admire most.

4. Use a Door Cushion

This product is perfect for a child’s room or pets that like to free roam the house. Door cushions are a small pillow held between both sides of the door handle, and sit between the latch and the frame. This solution causes the door to slow down a lot earlier and thus quietly close if a window is left open.

Additionally, it prevents a child or pet from being locked in a room because it covers the lock and sits in the frame when the door is closed. It can also help when a caretaker is putting a child to sleep, as it prevents the need for turning the handle, and muffles any sound the door would make while it closes.

Another version of these would sit at the bottom of another door in the hall that is often closed. If the problem is the difference in air pressure between rooms, having a long cushion beneath the closed door in the hall causing the problem or creating a draft could solve the slamming doors in your home. This can also be paired with the door cushion on other doors as a failsafe, or when regularly using the door.

5. Use Felt Pads

Similarly to the door cushion, a few self-adhesive felt pads in the edges of the door frame where the door is hitting as it closes should be able to muffle the sound. Position them wherever you notice the door hits first as it closes, and stick them to the frame. This should help slow the door down and muffle the sound of it coming into the frame and slamming.

The top or bottom parts of the strike plate may be the best places to start, and you should only need just enough to prevent the slam. This solution is out of sight and easily applied to the door to prevent it from closing loudly by absorbing the shock of it coming into the doorframe.

6. Installing a Door Silencer

These are most commonly seen on the big heavy hospital doors and are an easy solution for this problem. The coned end of the door silencer works to absorb the shock of the door closing and is flexible enough to let the door close completely.

They are made to be incredibly durable but are small simple fixes that are practically out of sight. This solution is perfect if your doors are a bit heavier or if you want an easy long term solution to the problem of your doors slamming loudly in regular use.

7. Automatic Door Closer

This solution is best suited for outdoor facing doors, like for sunrooms and garages. They should be affixed to the top of the door, and come in both metal and plastic styles. The metal ones last longer, of course, but both serve the same purpose.

They slow the door down while it closes, and keeps it at a steady single pace on its own to close the door behind you when you come or go. If you want to keep a door open with one of these installed, you may need to pair this with a door stopper beneath the door, but if all you want is for the door to close silently, this will be the perfect solution.

Depending on the style and model they can be more expensive than the other options on this list, but serve as a much longer-lasting solution to the problem and might be the perfect for outside facing doors at least.

If you want to find the best door closer, check this article.

Why You Should Prevent Doors from Slamming

We have considered some of the most common reasons why you may find yourself in a situation where doors in your house continuously slam. Let’s face it; everyone knows just how irritating this can become. While a sudden slam due to a draft that runs through the house will only cause a quick fright or startle you, the continuous slamming of a door can become an annoyance – especially if you are trying to sleep.

The next major problem that comes to mind here is the safety of smaller ones in your home. Whether you have pets or children – both can be harmed by a slamming door. Consider a cat walking through your house, and as it enters a room, the door slams into them. This can cause your pet to sustain a serious injury in some cases. The same goes for small children, as they would not necessarily be able to detect the slamming of the door early or have the reflexes to stop the door from closing on them.

Also, if a door in your house is constantly slamming, it can cause damage to the structure. In addition to damaging the door itself, the surrounding structures that help keep the door in place may also be damaged.

When these structures are damaged, it means they will need to be fixed – and the damage can continue to worsen if you do not take appropriate action in time. Fixing a broken door means expenses – costs that you would not have had should you have taken action to help stop the doors from slamming earlier on.

Conclusion

When doors in your house constantly slam, it can be startling and annoying, and even lead to harmful consequences for your loved ones and pets. Learning how to stop doors from slamming starts with a better understanding of why this is happening in the first place. Once you know the reason, the next step in the process is to implement appropriate steps to rectify the problems. We shared some helpful tips to help you stop doors from slamming in your home.

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