Common Door Knob Problems and How to Fix Them

Image source: Elements Envato

Although small purchases, doorknobs play big and important roles in keeping a home safe, secure, and complete. If anything, doorknobs are also seen as staples or essentials in upscaling a home’s decor, which is an additional feature to its primary function. Whatever doorknob you may want for your home, it’s important that you find the right one based on your needs and preferences as this can make things easier for you. More than anything, having a clear idea of what you want your home to look like or what style you’re trying to go for can also give you a clear sense of which types or styles of doorknob to incorporate in your home.

However, just like any other home furniture, feature, or fixture, doorknobs also often get caught up in problems concerning the main handle, its lockset, and so much more. While doorknob prices in the Philippines come off as relatively cheap yet durable, it’s still a rising issue today of whether or not getting new locks and doorknobs would be a good thing or not because hey, sometimes, a good ol’ fix can solve lots of hardware problems. That being said, it’s an essential thing for homeowners to take a look at these problems fast and look for ways on how to solve and correct them before things get worse. Most of the time, doorknobs experience problems regarding a malfunctioning latch assembly or lock mechanism.

Curious about the many other doorknob problems you may face in your homes? Look no further and spend yourself the aggravation of stressing over your home’s doors because we’ve laid out below some of the most common doorknob problems and how to fix them.

Lock-Latching Issues

Locks failing to latch correctly is one of the most common doorknob problems many homeowners experience until today. When door latches don’t click into position, chances are both its latch and strike plate are out of its original posture or alignment.

To fix this, first, try tightening the hinge screws. After that, try adjusting the strike plate by loosening all screws while shifting it slightly. With this issue, repairs usually range from making minor door latch adjustments to repositioning the entire door itself. If simple troubleshooting of the said doorknob’s latch doesn’t work, you might want to call in professionals who can help you fix the problem accurately. After all, you wouldn’t want to ultimately add problems and issues to an already existing one.

Loosened Doorknob

Doorknobs can naturally get loose over time, and it’s a common problem among households, which, of course, can be fixed. However, there are different methods of tightening a doorknob’s grip, depending on the type of lockset. For simple interior mortise locksets, you can tighten it by first loosening the setscrew on the knob’s shank. Next, you’ll want to hold the knob on the other side of the door to keep it from falling, then turn the loose knob clockwise until it fits. Finally, proceed with tightening the screw until you feel it resting against the flat side of the spindle. From here, your knob should already turn freely.

However, if these steps don’t help at all, try removing the entire knob and checking the spindle as this can indicate that you need to replace the old, worn-out rod with a new one. Meanwhile, if you notice that the entire lockset has already worn out, then it’s best to replace all of its parts immediately or until you see fit.

Door Often Swings and Won’t Stay Open

This issue is commonly caused by doors out of plumb in its opening. To fix this, try inserting a small amount of shim between the door jamb and the back of its hinge (usually the bottom hinge). To do this, you must first loosen the knob’s hinge screws all the way to give you enough space between for the hinge and the jamb. Next, behind the hinge, try to insert small pieces of plastic laminate (we try to give you the simplest options--ones you can immediately find in any home) then re-tighten its screws.

Note that you may need to adjust a couple of times the amount of shim you insert to get your door to swing accurately this time. The same thing or procedure goes for when you also want to place the hinge somewhere at the center.

Frozen Door Locks

Exterior locks commonly freeze while interior locks can get dirty. These are common doorknob problems that can be fixed through quick remedies such as those mentioned below:

First, try putting some graphite into the keyhole. You can either squeeze it from a container or dust it on towards a key. After that, try to operate the lock a few times to make the graphite work its magic into the mechanism.

Another trick or remedy you can try doing is opt for lock de-icers, which contain alcohol and other lubricants, that could help dissolve dirty deposits within door locks. It pretty much works just like how spritzing graphite on keyholes does.

Your last resort could be completely disassembling the entire lock to see if something inside has started to jam up or break down. Frequently, you really have to opt for a replacement, but without buying a new lock.

Wrapping Up

Doorknobs, locks, and hinges can often get caught up in issues and problems mainly because of how long it has already been hinged or placed within door frames, or maybe because of a knob’s faulty nature (could also be a factory defect). Experiencing troublesome doorknob issues? Try browsing through these common problems and ways on how to fix them so you’d know what to do next time before you splurge on a new knob!

5 Things You Should Add to Your Wind down Routine

It may seem like a paradox, but the best way to approach relaxation and quality sleep is to be proactive about winding down at night. Lying on the couch and staring at the TV is for those who want to toss and turn. Real relaxation takes planning, and a wind-down routine is an essential part of that.

If you don’t already incorporate 30 minutes to an hour each night for decompressing and relaxation before sleep, you may be missing out on some much-needed, deep, restorative sleep that can decrease your risk of disease and improve cognitive function.

With a wind-down routine, you can reap these positive results and more - with a simple practice that is natural and free. It’s worth it for your mental and physical well-being to add a sleep-conducive wind-down routine to your evenings, staring with these 5 essentials.

Set the Tone with Lighting

At least an hour before bedtime, dim the lights in your home. This will calm your brain and trigger relaxation. To take your commitment to relaxation even further before bed, the Neurosurgery Center of Colorado recommends dimming the lights at dusk.

Although we have the ability through technology to block out night altogether, this is not how we were wired to operate. A slow decrease in light at dusk helps your brain prepare for sleep with the secretion of melatonin. The same effect is not achieved when you suddenly go from bright light to total darkness.

Utilize Aromatherapy and White Noise

One excellent way to foster a relaxing environment during wind-down time and through the wee hours of the night is to keep an essential oil diffuser running with a relaxing oil, such as lavendar or sweet orange.

Another way to keep yourself from waking during the night is to provide some type of white noise while you sleep. White noise, such as from a ceiling fan or nature sound machine, will help mask sleep-stealing noises.

Add a Dose of Mindfulness and Meditation

A consistently practiced wind-down routine is your panacea for quality sleep, but only if you add a little dose of mindfulness and meditation

This part of your quiet time only needs to fill about 10 minutes, but can be as long as you want and can be done wherever you feel the most comfortable, but avoid the bedroom until it’s lights out!

Related article: Yoga and meditation

Take Inventory

A common element in addiction recovery programs is to take a brief daily inventory of situations and events that occurred during your day and how you responded to them, but this is a great practice for anyone looking to grow in self-awareness.

If a situation didn’t go as well as it could have or an ongoing issue wasn’t addressed, think of ways that similar situations can be avoided in the future. However, don’t focus solely on what didn’t go as planned. Remember to pat yourself on the back during your daily inventory for the things that went well, equipped with your newly found well-rested, self-aware approach to life.

Fall Asleep Focusing on Your Breath

For many people, trying to fall asleep can involve tossing and turning, as well as a mind that won’t seem to stop running at full speed. As you evolve in your wind-down practice, your ability to fall asleep will improve, as well as the quality of your sleep.

However, a great way to keep your mind calm once you’ve turned out the lights is to focus on your breath as you drift into la-la land. This gives your mind a distraction to keep it from wandering into the past or future.

Related article: Sleep Deprivation Effects
Health Benefits of Quality Sleep 

About Insufficient Sleep

 

What are the different jobs of a locksmith and how can they help you out?

Introduction

Locksmiths are one of the most popular professions now a days. Many people fail to understand it perfectly and often assume it as a person who adjusts and opens locks. However, it is a much diverse job that involves years of practice and expertise to ace. From installation of a new lock to the repair and maintenance of the older ones, it involves numerous different tasks.

Repairs of locks

Once locks get old, they fail to function as perfectly as you would wish. Hence, in order to ease through the process, it is advisable to either repair the older lock or repair it with a new one. Since people do not have enough expertise in this regard, it is advisable to contact a professional locksmith for this purpose. They have enough experience and will guide you well if you should replace the older lock or maintain it. Usually if the lock has a few broken components, then it is easier to maintain it; however, in case it involves a lot of cost in repair and maintenance, then it is advisable to install a new lock.

New keys for the lock

Acquiring new keys for the old locks is a process known as Lock rekey. This seems to be a fairly simple process whereas the internal parts of the locks receive a modification to give it a brand new experience. This way you will be using a new key to open the lock. This is one of the few jobs of a locksmith that people cannot perform on their own. Rekeying of a lock is fairly common when a key or keys to the lock are misplaced or stolen. In order to save money, it is advisable to change the key structure of the old lock rather than opting to buy a new one.

Replacement of a car key 

There are a number of different instances that people must have faced when they forget their car keys inside their cars. In case they have a spare key, they are good to go. However, in case they cannot open the car through a spare key, they are stuck. Hence, they will need to call a locksmith who can either access the door look through a master key or will have to replace the car keys. There are various auto locksmith in Melbourne that are excellent at this job and can do it no time at all.

Duplicate or Spare keys

No one would love to have a single key for their locks. Whether it is a door key to your house or a car key, it is inevitable to have duplicate keys for it. In case you have a single key for any of the locks, you need to go to a nearby locksmith and get a spare key or keys for you lock. This will automatically give you additional and give you relief in case you misplace or forget to carry one.