There are a lot of ways to stop a door from slamming. One of them is to just avoid slamming it yourself or not having angry people doing that around you.
Door slamming is a common issue that can cause a lot of disturbance and permanent damages to your door and your nervous system.
It can occur due to sudden wind, air flow changes in your house, improper door installation, or careless handling. Another quite annoying reason is when someone actually slams the door (usually when angry). And most of us don’t like it when a door is slammed, either by another person or by nature.
Whatever the reason is, frequent door slamming can ruin the peace in your house.
If you’re tired of door slams and are looking for a permanent solution, there are plenty of effective ways to stop a door from slamming, including replacing weak hinges and installing auto door closers.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at some easy methods and review several options for door stoppers to make the job a lot easier for you.
Why Doors Slam?
Simply put, it’s because an air stream usually in the form of a wind creates a higher pressure, when it passes through an open door, the air flow will then decrease the pressure and this will make the door open or close. Sometimes this can happen with a great force by following the direction of the air stream.
The door represents a relatively large moving surface that transforms the pressure difference in the room into a horizontal movement and then into a kinetic moment made possible by the hinges whose axis is fixed. It’s essentially how the pendulum principle works.
Why Stop Your Door From Slamming ?
Well it’s mostly a no brainer and the answer is quite obvious really: by doing so, you avoid the loud and sudden noise produced by the slam as well as the impact of vibrations in your home.
Negative Effects Of A Slamming Door?
Slamming doors are yet another source of stress in our already overly stressful modern life.
The negative effects are not only that you can damage your door, but also can take a toll on your nerves and mental health. Excessive stress will affect your well being, especially if it persists or is too severe to handle. So, make sure you remove at least this source of annoying and stress causing noise from your life.
Can you imagine someone trying to slam a door when you have installed a door closer (the thing you see over doors at shops and office buildings)? Hilarious maybe, but you’ll be grateful you did it in the long run.
So, How To Stop A Door From Slamming
The first obvious solution is of course to leave your door closed, when not in use. However, many of us prefer to have a proper airflow throughout their homes, especially during summer. And that’s when the slamming door becomes a problem.
Fortunately, there are many ways to prevent your doors from slamming as well as several tricks you can use.
Replacing Weak Or Damaged Hinges
Weak or damaged hinges are the main reason for constant door slamming. Poorly installed hinges cannot control the door’s movement properly and this will result in a lot of annoying noise. You can use a leveling tool to look for uneven or damaged hinges with loose screws.
We recommend you replace hinges one at a time to prevent the complete removal of the door. Make sure the new hinges are correctly aligned and balanced.
Use A Rubber Band
There are a lot of DIY hacks you can use to reduce the noise produced from door slams. If you’ve got some standard rubber bands in your home, you can attach them to your door frame and stretch them to cover the edges of the door. It won’t prevent your door from slamming, but will decrease the slamming force and the annoying noise.
Install An Auto Door Closer
If you live in a windy place you will have your doors constantly slamming. So, having a door closer installed will really make a difference and you will finally get to enjoy a quieter and stress free home. At least, when it comes to the annoying sound of a slamming door.
You may have seen hydraulic door closers installed on hotel or restaurant doors. Fortunately, it’s easy to find different types of domestic door closers suitable for medium-sized doors as well.
These easy-to-install automatic closers are equipped with valves to adjust the closing speed as per your choice. Once you’ve installed an auto door closer, you’ll never have to worry about door slamming again.
However, it can get a little pricey when you are shopping for the perfect hydraulic door closer for your home. Especially if you are looking for a high quality and durable product.
Install Weatherstripping
If the DIY methods don’t really work for you, buying a rubber foam tape to weatherstrip your door can help you prevent door slams. These durable and shock-absorbing tapes will make sure your door doesn’t hit hard by absorbing the energy and provide better soundproofing.
It’s quite easy to install these rubber tapes. All you’ve got to do is stick the foam around your door frame as per your door’s measurements.
Using a Door Silencer
A door silencer is yet another widely-used effective product to stop a door from slamming. It’s a molded rubber pad that you can install on both wooden or metal doors. However, installing these silencers can be a little tricky, and you may need some professional help to get your door silencer installed properly. It’s a decent and affordable alternative to a hydraulic door closer.
Door Cushion
You can find different door cushions on the market with various attractive patterns and designs. The purpose of using these cushions is similar to using rubber bands. They’re helpful to muffle the loud slamming sound, making them a perfect pick for parents with newborns.
We’ve also recommended a nice door cushion product and you can check it out below.
Here are some of our product recommendations.
7 Best Products You Can Use To Stop A Door From Slamming
1. Hushbumps Gel. Ultra-quiet bumper
While non-slip products are usually made of rubber, these 3 cm x 1.47 cm rectangles are filled with a polymer gel. The model we recommend has 30 pieces that you can safely use on your doors.
The bumper pieces are only 0.22 cm thick, but they will provide just enough padding to absorb the shock and noise of your slamming doors. In addition, the good thing about this product is that you won’t need to remove it when you want to close the door.
Main Features:
– Self-adhesive gel bumpers
– 3 x packs with 10 pieces
– Installs where the door meets the frame.
– Polymer gel technology
You can also use floor mounted bumpers to stop your door from slamming.
2. Child Safety Anti Snap Hand
Happy Hands secure door stops have a similar function to the previous product, as they leave a gap between the door and its frame. However, unlike foam bumpers, they are made of hard and durable plastic. The manufacturer points out the high quality of their products and the fact that they are stronger than foam door stops. After looking at the multiple positive reviews, it seems that most users agree with that too.
This product has a flat back that adheres to the edge of the door and a small hand that turns outward to prevent the door from closing. When not in use or when you want to actually close the door, you can just fold it up. The model is available in 6 fun colors that will surely delight your kids.
Main Features:
– Hand-shaped durable plastic door stopper
– Package of 2 pieces, available in 6 colors
– Sticks to the edge of the door
– Rotates vertically when you want to close the door.
3. Cushy Closer Door Cushion
The Cushy Closer Door Cushion is a small 14 cm long padded fabric rectangle that has two elastic loops on its shortest sides. Basically, you are supposed to wrap one of the rubber bands around the door handle and stretch the cushion to wrap the second rubber band around the handle on the other side of the door. Pretty simple, really.
The cushion has a width of 8.90 cm which means it will push the door latch. As you can imagine, this product is mainly designed to prevent doors from closing or locking. Then, when you want to close or lock your door, you can remove one of the elastic loops and let the cushion hang on the handle on one side of the door.
The brand offers 13 fabric colors (including a particularly charming fox pattern). However, if you want other options, you can check out the Latchy Catchy door cushion. Or you can make one your self.
Main Features:
– Handy door lock cushion
– 8.90 x 14 cm fabric with rectangular shape
– 13 different patterns and colors
– Easy to wrap the two rubber bands around the handle on both sides of the door.
Frankly, you can make your own door cushion as it’s a really simple product. You can check these tutorials for DIY door cushions, which you can easily make at home.
4. Rhoost Finger Guard – Anti-Pinch Hinge & Finger Protector
Although it’s made to protect children fingers from getting pinched by doors, the product can also serve as an anti slamming cushion as it prevents the door from going all the way to closing completely. It leaves a few inches of space between the door and the door frame.
Unlike the previous products we reviewed which usually need to be attached where the handle is located, “Rhoost Finger Guard” is intended for hanging on the hinges of the door. Depending on the direction in which it’s mounted, it will prevent the door from either closing or opening. In any case, it will keep the side of the door with the hinges open and protect your children if they get their little fingers stuck in this space.
The “Rhoost Finger Guard”is made of white plastic and has a hook that runs over the door hinges with an angled tip that keeps the door open.
Main Features:
– Nice classic white color
– Easy to use. Just slide it over the door hinges
– Hang it on the door handle when not in use
5. Under Door Draft Stopper
It’s basically a simple single or double sided tube like model filled with foam cylinders that you place on one side of the door or slip under the bottom trough the edge of the door. Whether it is one or the other, they work equally well. However, if your main concern is to prevent the door from closing, the single-sided tube version like this one, will probably be more suitable.
What We Recommend:
6. Onarway Hydraulic Aluminum Door Closer
You may think that these door closing mechanisms you often see in your local grocery store are expensive, but this isn’t necessarily true for this residential model.
Onarway’s residential automatic door closer is a heavy-duty hydraulic product designed with durable aluminum alloy, made of anti-corrosive and abrasion-resistant material .
It’s a size-three door closer suitable for medium-sized right or left doors and can be installed in three different ways. The two adjustable speed options allow you to be in full control. You can use the instruction manual to install the door closer without much hassle. Make sure you measure your door and crosscheck the size requirements before buying this model.
The product comes with all the parts you need to assemble it, and they even made a useful installation tutorial video that you can watch online. There are several ways to install it, so we recommend you take a look at it below.
You can adjust it in two ways by using an ordinary flat-head screwdriver, turning both ends located on the sides to change the closing and locking speeds. The first option is the speed at which your door will reach 15 degrees, while the other is the speed at which it will close completely.
Pros:
- Long-lasting and durable aluminum built
- Anti-corrosive
- Speed adjustable
Cons:
- Not suitable for doors weighing less than 100 pounds
You can install this pretty easily by watching the video below:
7. Weather Stripping Self-Adhesive Seal Strip for Doors
You only need to remove the red strip from the one side to attach it to your doors. You can be assured about the product’s quality as the company provides a 12-month refund or replacement policy on this weatherstripping kit.
Pros:
- Flexible rubber material
- Self-Adhesive, easy to install
- It provides an air-tight seal
Cons:
- Depending on the material it’s applied to, it may not stick well. So, make sure you read and follow the instructions. Use only on well cleaned, flat surfaces.
Final Words
We looked at some easy, effective hacks and products you can use to stop your door from slamming. You can experiment with the above-listed products to find the most suitable options that would work best for you. If you don’t want to spend on a door closer or silencer, we’ve also suggested some DIY methods, that are really useful to reduce the annoying noise from a slamming door.
The best part is you can easily apply them yourself! The most important thing is to make sure that any product you eventually use on your door is properly installed and works as intended.
Have you ever thought about what are the best methods to prevent your door from slamming and which products you should use?
If you have any suggestions or questions let us know in the comments below.
