Ever been trapped in the bathroom? We were. All the time. Every spring and summer, thanks to a bit of increased humidity, our full bathroom’s door used to swell just enough in the top left corner to keep the door from opening on the first pull. Or the second. Or the third. In fact it usually took some serious “door flapping” (grabbing the knob and rocking back and forth until it sprung free on the fifth or sixth tug) to get out of the bathroom every time we used it. And forget about our poor friends and family members who innocently ducked in there and then freaked out about a minute later when they thought they were locked in the bathroom permanently (screaming and pounding usually occurred in those instances- if not at least some mumbled obscenities).
The odd thing is that we put up with this silly inconvenience for such a long time. Especially when there’s such a simple solution. One day when John had our $50-ish Black & Decker hand sander from Home Depot out (while working on something for our new office- more on that tomorrow) I mentioned that he should hop up on a chair and sand down that dastardly left side of the bathroom door to keep it from sticking ever again.
And it worked like a charm. It seriously took him less than sixty seconds of running a hand sander across the top of the door to ever-so-slightly slim it down so it no longer got caught by the door frame as snugly on those hot and humid days. And even if we didn’t have a hand sander, we’re sure about five minutes with a sanding block or even a piece of sandpaper and some elbow grease would have also done the trick. Oh and painting the top edge after you sand it (priming first = extra credit) will further keep it from expanding again, so your door will be shaved into submission for the long haul.
So if you have a sticky bathroom (or any other room) door that you’re dealing with, just break out that sandpaper and get ‘er done. Or you could wait four years and titter every time you hear friends and family members panicking when they think we’re trapped in the restroom forever. Either one.
And we’d love to know what simple project you guys have been putting off for weeks, months, maybe even years. It always seems like the tiniest to-do’s get put on hold the longest…
beabee says
The second option seemed to be more popular at our house growing up… the garage door was missing a door knob for at least four years. Now I’m married to a very handy engineer, and it’s bliss!!!
Liz @ Bon Temps Beignet says
I have the same problem with one of my side yard doors… except that during the winter the door shrinks and shakes whenever the wind blows. How do I solve *that* problem??
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Liz,
Since you have the opposite problem, it sounds like you have to build up your door a bit so it doesn’t shrink and shake with every gust of wind. Have you tried adding some weatherstripping around it to beef up the seal? That would probably be our first suggestion. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Cate says
Hahaha! We just put an offer on a house with some seriously sticky doors. Assuming we get it, we might need to break out this tip right away!
Steph says
It’s always the smallest jobs that you procrastinate on. then when you eventually get around to it, you slap yourself for taking so long when the solution is so easy. Funny how life works sometimes!
Emily says
I have this EXACT problem with my master bedroom door. Drives me insane. Going to fix that tonight for sure! Thank you!
Jessica @ How Sweet says
Ohmigosh! This has been happening in our master bath since we moved in, and we have had NO clue how to fix it. Neither one of us are very handy. Hahah I’m sending this post to my husband right this minute!
Kate @ Domesticating Kate says
For me, the problem is usually hanging things. I’ll print out and frame photographs or buy a piece of art, and then it takes me forever to get around to hanging it. It’s not the work – which is pretty simple – but the decision-making process that petrifies me. What if I hang it and it looks horrible? What if it’s not in the right spot? What if I put 8,000 holes in the wall and have to repain the entire room???
Yeah… I have problems. :)
Oh, and it took us about 3 weeks to finally caulk our backsplash (10-minute job) after installing it. Why is it always those little things?
Lili says
oh ours does the same thing!
sj says
I just did the same thing to my door so it wouldn’t stick. I also noticed we have the same doors. I added trim to 5 of my doors to make panels. It was a great update for $20. Congrats on Clara, she is gorgeous!
Amber says
We don’t have a sticky door situation, but we have certainly had our fair share of other easy fixes we’ve put off. In fact, I just wrote about it!
Love your tips!
Kara says
My parents’ front door swells in the summer and shrinks in the winter, and it seems like I’m always either fighting open it or accidentally slamming it shut. My dad refuses to sand it down though because original wood must be preserved, whatever the price.
My husband and I want to replace the hollow-core exterior doors on our house before next winter, and for this reason alone I’m convinced metal (not solid wood) is the way to go, even if it means sacrificing some style.
Meredith says
We had this problem with the antique knobs in our house…the knob would come off in your hand when you tried to turn it; someone on the outside would need to let you out! We “solved” it by switching the knob with one on a closet, but we definitely had a few episodes of “will you let me out please?” first!
Catherine M. says
That used to happen to us too! Make sure to paint the sanded side (even just with primer if you don’t have much time b/c of the bambino!) because as soon as it gets humid again the door will swell up again, sanding or no sanding.
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip Catherine! We whipped out some semi-gloss paint and it seems to have done the trick!
xo,
s
Beth says
We have a sticky guest bedroom door and our kitchen door out to the garage is without a door knob, so we have to pull it open by the locks. We have been in the house for 9 months now, and have done a lot of “bigger” projects, so it really does seem that the smallest jobs get put off!
Kasey says
To funny! This just reminded me that we also have to take care of our bathroom door issue.
We live in Florida and the humidity down here is just disgusting. Our guest bathroom door swells to the max and it’s hard, especially in the mornings when my Husband uses the guest bath before work and the door makes a loud scraping and creaking sound as he tries to open it.
I’m glad the sander worked… now im gonna go give it a try! :)
Mike at The Big Stick says
I think your post touches on an interesting topic which is, “What are the most annoying things we put up with for years to either save 5 minutes of our time or $5.” We had a nail in our pantry in our old house that I hung the dog leash on. My wife nailed it in there one day right through the dry wall. With no stud behind it the nail was always loose and every other time we grabbed the leash it would fall out. We put up with this for 2 YEARS! When we moved one of the first things I did was to install a $3 3M hook n our new pantry for the leash. No slips, no aggravation. It makes me look back on that aggravation and shake my head.
Sarah @ The Ugly Duckling House says
We had the exact same problem. My boyfriend Scott finally got tired of it and took care of it during our master bedroom project. It was such a small (but irritating) problem, but it surprises me how long we let it go without fixing. It’s true; the smallest jobs are put off the longest.
Lisa says
We’ve had 7 years of sticky basement doors. The basement is our direct access to our backyard every summer GRRR! Guess I’m going to have to try the sander.
Erin O. says
The door to our basement does this in the summer! It is so nice in the winter because you don’t even think about it. Then I realize its gotten warm and humid because that darn door sticks! Thanks for the easy-fix.
Loren says
Don’t be angry Young Housers, because I know this would really bother you. But my simple project is hanging curtains. I know that it will take me 15 minutes when I do it because I’ve got the curtains AND the hardware. But they’ve been sitting in the closet for about 6 months. We just pull down the ugly ugly mini blinds in our apartment instead.
Lynn Van Slyke says
REALLY?!?!?! Thats all I need to do to fix the closet door in my foyer!! I love you guys!!
Oh, I just finally organized all my paperwork after 18 years of marriage I finally went through all of it. Literally went through all of it this weekend. Two huge under-bed storage boxes and 5 small file boxes. Condensed it to 2 of those plastic File envelopes. It was very liberating and now I know were everything is.
Jill says
HAHAHA! We had the exact same problem – my husband’s grandma thought she was going to be trapped in our bathroom forever! We fixed ours the same way about a year ago! Thanks for the laugh!
Ris says
My beautiful old 1920’s era apartment has the exact same problem. There are tons of built-in wooden cabinets and bookshelves and they all stick in the summer and flap open in the winter (in Chicago there are some pretty big temperature differences). It’s annoying but I’ve learned to live with it.
Kate says
Our front door (of our apartment) squeeks terribly, I’m sure due to a lack of lubrication in the hinges. It really it awesome whenver I open of close the door and has been for the last year. But in that year have I added a couple drops of oil to the hinges? Nope. I really do need to get around to that…
LCAinRIC says
Our kitchen ceiling has needed to have some drywall replaced since we moved in 3 years ago…it’s been on the to-do list a looooong time
Ashley @ The Design Thief says
What a simple solution! I have two doors I need to do that too… I swear, getting stuck in a bathroom is no fun!
joanne says
glad it worked for you, but watch out, folks. if you’re in an old house, it could just be a function of the wood and the constant freeze/thaw happening – friends had a landlord that took this approach, but had to take it over and over again becuase the whole door frame would shift during periods of frost and thaw…and by the time spring came around, the door didn’t fit at all anymore…
Nichole@40daysof says
It actually comforts me to know that you guys procrastinate, too. :)
http://40daysof.wordpress.com/2010/05/23/garden-revamp-revealed/
PJ says
I saw the title of this post and was immediately reminded of an incident during our master bath reno where I was trapped for what felt like eternity. Unfortunately, my reason for being trapped wasn’t as sensible as yours…nope. I was changing a door knob from the inside of the bathroom and thought it would be smart to make sure the latch was properly installed BEFORE attaching the handles. Well, it was properly installed and I was thrilled until I realized that I couldn’t get out without handles! My husband was away indefinitely and I had to channel MacGyver to bust out. I was newly pregnant so I just blamed my hormones!
Jacquelin Seybert says
I would have a panic attack if I got stuck in our bathroom. Claustrophobic!
Tamisha says
Too coincidental! We have a front closet (affectionately named the “stupid closet” because it is 8 inches deep) that has a sticky door. Yesterday, we took it off the hinges to sand the bottom and ended up stripping the whole thing! The reason we tend to put up with minor inconveniences is because to address the little issue usually means tacking a much bigger issue. If I’m going to take the door off, I might as well address the whole paint issue, and the paint on the hardware, and the missing screws on the escutchen, and on and on and on the list goes. One little job invariably turns into a dozen mid-sized to larger jobs!
Meghan says
After three years, we finally moved up the mirror 6″ in the bathroom, so that the husband didn’t have to bend his knees and stoop to look himself in the eye.
Still on the “I can’t believe we haven’t done this yet” list: level the stove, fix the water pipes that are reversed through half the house (should be an easy fix, but plumbing is intimidating), and apply caulk in some places that get a little too wet in the corners for my liking.
Sigh.
Laurie says
is the door hung crooked? a hinge bent?
Is it enough to show an uneven line from the back in the winter?
You guys are so brave.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Laurie,
Nope, the door didn’t appear to be hung crooked and all the hinges were in good working order as well. For some reason the top edge of the door was just a smidge too high in one spot- so the sanding did the trick. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
carmen says
I remember when I was little I was stuck in the bathroom once. My dad had to change the door. Quick question: Was there any reason why you chose the Nikon D3000 over the D5000? Thanks and can’t wait to hear about the home office plans tomorrow.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Carmen,
We had a few friends and family members who had the D3000 and loved it, and when we read about it (and have subsequently played with ours for over a month) we’re confident it’s all the camera we’ll ever need. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Renae says
Isn’t that funny? The EXACT same thing happened this spring when we suddenly found ourselves buying a different house and springing into action to finish all of the “little things” around here. We were seriously shaking our heads for about a week because it was so simple. Our doors (three of them) couldn’t even shut all of the way. Even now, almost two months later, Ryan still lets out an occasional “Woo hoo!” when he closes one of those doors! :) Good job guys. Wow, being productive even with an infant in the house.
Beth-BTW says
That usually will fix the problem, but there are times when more drastic measures need to be taken. My grandparents have been dealing with this issue for, gosh, 15 or so years? They sanded and sanded and sanded, painting each time, to no avail. Finally, just this spring, it was determined that they actually needed a beam under their house. It wasn’t the door that was swelling, it was the floor that was sinking! Yipes!
Support is now installed and we come and go from their bathroom with the greatest of ease. :)
Amber says
The weather just jumped from 50 to 90 in about four days (thank you Illinois…), so doors in our new house are sticking for the first time and I can’t stand it! What do you do though if your doors aren’t solid wood? Any suggestions?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Amber,
Our doors are actually all hollow core and this method still works like a charm! Just go from the top or bottom (depending where they stick) since there’s a good amount of wood to sand before you get to the hollow part. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jenny says
Oh I can seriously relate. Whenever I would shower – the steamy air would make my door stick – but usually after pounding or pulling on it a few times, I could get it open. One day though – it just refused to open. Rather than wait until all the humidity disappeared – I decided to yell out the window to a neighbor. Thankfully, my neighbors said that they faintly heard their name being called..followed by the word “help!” (even though their windows were closed) Thank goodness they had a key to my house – and great hearing. After banging the door corners and a few good pulls, I was freed. Just another typical day as a single home owner. They have a good story to tell too…along with the time they came over to help stop the fountain of water spraying to my kitchen ceiling while I was working on a plumbing project….but I digress. : )
Mel says
Heh. Nice. My own five-second project is the shower door – it needs some weather stripping (which I already have) to keep water from splashing out onto the rug. I noticed it the first day we moved in. We’ve been in that apartment for two months now, and nope, not done yet…
Becky S. says
You’re probably too young to remember, but back in the 90’s there was a store called “This End Up”. I went to their going out of business sale and purchased 30 yards of fabric. I had grand plans to make treatments for the 4 windows in my living room and dining room. Here we are in 2010, and your post on “no sew window panels” has inspired me to finally pull that fabric out of the closet! I finished 3 of the panels yesterday, and then ran out of Heat N Bond. And even though the fabric is over 10 years old, I still like it (not love, but like)
The goal…finish all 8 panels by Friday so they can be hung over the weekend!
Thanks for your inspiration to DIY.
Tara H says
We have an enormous cold air return at the top of a wall in our dining room. When we first moved in, I would stare at the giant eyesore whenever I ate a meal, because the angle of the vent slats allowed me to stare into the dusty inner-workings of our ducting. After about a year I realized that if I took the vent cover off and turned it upside down, the vent slats would point towards the ceiling and I wouldn’t have to stare inside the ducts while I ate. Took me 5 minutes to unscrew and rescrew with my electric screwdriver, but a year to figure out.
Cara @ Live the Home Life says
Genious! I have a couple of doors with the same problem. Not for long!
-Cara
Jen says
Got it! Thank you!
Paula S. says
I had the same thing with a door in my awesome little 1925 house. One day I took a planer to it. (I think that is the right name of the tool.) I guess I could have tried sand paper first, but I was really sick of not being able to shut my bedroom door! Man I miss that house. It was a beauty! On another topic…I request more pics of Clara. :)
Claudie says
I saw a tip somewhere about this situation where you place carbon paper on the top (or side) of the door and shut it. It will transfer wherever the door is rubbing so you can see where to sand it down.
We bought this house last July and we still haven’t finished putting the shoe molding in. We put in new flooring right after we bought the house, but the molding has been a very slow process. Well, that and we’ve just been lazy about it, lol.
YoungHouseLove says
Awesome tip with the carbon paper, Claudie! Thanks for passing it along to everyone.
-John
christine says
i love your bathroom! Its so calm and serene! Do you have a closet in this Bathroom? I dont have a closet for towels and such and am torn on what to do! I found a towel tower but it doesnt match our vanity (which is the same color as yours)! Any suggestions?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Christine,
We actually do have a closet in our bathroom, and we removed the door to create open storage with lots of baskets and bins to hold our supplies and towels. Here’s a link where you can see more: https://www.younghouselove.com/tackling-the-bathroom-the-big-reveal/
As for the towel tower, if it doesn’t match your vanity perhaps you can paint it or stain it? We have tutorials to do both of those things on our How To page (see that tab under the header?). Good luck!
xo,
s
Star Design says
I’ve been listening to squeaky door hinges for months! When I know it would only take 2 minutes and a little spray of Pam. This article is a good reminder, I’ll do it today!
Penny B says
We have a bathroom door like that! I’m going right now to find our sander.
Kristy says
This is great as we have two doors in our new house that do this.
Michelle says
When I was little, my bedroom door did that. I got trapped in my room on a regular basis and would freak out. My parents didn’t think to fix the door (by sanding down like you) until we were moving out of that place, and for about one glorious week I had a door that actually opened and closed with ease. Even though I was only about 6 years old at the time I remember thinking, “why didn’t we do this sooner??”