Found a $3 fix for my squeaky floorboards

Everyone told me to buy expensive joist screws or call a handyman. I used baby powder from the dollar store, brushed it into the gaps, and the squeak stopped after two days. Anybody else got a weird cheap fix for something like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

adam_robinson1d ago

Oh yeah @patriciacarr is spot on with the candle wax thing. I had a bathroom cabinet door that would squeal like a dying cat every time I opened it after a shower. Rubbed a crayon on the hinge pins and it shut right up. The talcum powder trick on floorboards is genius though, I always just lived with the squeak until it drove me nuts. Dollar store fixes are the best, nobody needs to spend fifty bucks on some special oil or screws.

patriciacarr1d ago

That talcum powder trick works because it's basically a dry lubricant. Most people think about tightening things down but sometimes the squeak comes from wood rubbing against wood or nails. I had a door that would groan every time it closed and a little candle wax rubbed on the hinge pins fixed it completely. Also heard of people using bar soap on sticky drawers to get them sliding smooth again. The key is understanding what's actually rubbing and then finding a cheap lubricant to stop it.