How to Fix Dresser Drawers That Slide Open? 3 Easy Hack

Dresser drawers opening by themselves or remaining slide open is probably one of the most annoying things about furniture. But do you know how to fix dresser drawers that slide open? 

The fixing process is quite an easy process. First, check if the weight of the drawer is imbalanced or not. If you find the weight a bit excess, then shift some items. In most cases, weight shifting solves the problem. If this attempt fails then adjusting the glides must work. 

In worst cases, you may need to replace the drawer set up or even the cabinet. And this re-configuration is your last resource, I hope you don’t need it. Let’s explain the process.

How to Fix Dresser Drawers That Slide Open?  Explained

We can fix the drawer by following 2 simple methods. They’re: 

Method 1: Weight Balancing

Most of the time we keep items in drawers without caring about the weight factor. Gradually we store so many items inside that it becomes a mess and we hardly try to shift them. We should balance the weight every time. 

Keeping items at the front continuously causes piles of them with excess weight in the front. So before taking any further steps, try to shift some items and then check if it’s solved. In most cases, this is the major reason for drawers remaining open.

Method 2: Adjusting Drawer Glides

There is plenty of drawer glides with a huge variety of models which means some of the glides may work in different ways. Though a major portion of the models is attached to the drawers and cabinets using screws. 

Most of the time the attached screws come loose and cause uneven gliding performance. In this case, you can follow a few simple steps below:

Drawer Removal

Pull out the drawer from the cabinet and keep it aside. Then place your multipurpose laser level on a glide and check if the glide can move easily. If yes, this means there’s a loose and you need to tighten up the screws. In case you need to fix metal drawer slides.

Track Balancing

If screw tightening of the glides doesn’t improve performance, then you need to look inside the cabinet. One more time place your level on top of any tracks there to check if it’s balanced. If not then unscrew them and then reinstall them correctly.

Last Step

If your problem still exists, then look for a center track in the cabinet. If there’s any, then check if it is loosened or not. For a loosened center track just tighten the screws and your problem is fixed finally.

Before

Before starting the process, you may check some tools you have or not:

• Hammer
• Pliers
• ½ inch screws
• Measurement tape
• A Level

Besides these, you must maintain some cautions like safety goggles, and safety gloves in case any unexpected event occurs. 

FAQs

How Do You Fix a Drawer Slide on a Dresser?

If your dresser is a vintage one, then there’s a chance that your drawer has one of the two slide models. These drawers are either side-mounted or center-mounted. The slide fixing procedure for both models is a bit similar. There’s a nice tutorial on fixing drawer slides on a dresser in detail.

We have a detailed guide on how to fix wooden drawer slides in case you need them.

Why Won’t My Dresser Drawers Stay Closed?

The very basic answer to this question is wrapped housing. Moreover, loose rails and structural imbalance also cause this kind of issue. Generally keeping items properly in the drawer solves the problem. 

Again issues like loose rail or structural imbalance may require more attention from you to solve. Speaking of drawer closing trouble, there’s a good article on fixing front door closure you may like.

How Do You Stop Drawers from Sliding Open?

The very natural answer to this question is to find the main reason and work on that until it is completely solved. In most cases, the problem occurs from keeping items in an imbalanced way. The other common reasons are sliding problems, dust, and structural issues. Working on each gradually must bring you to a solution.

How to Remove Drawers from the Wardrobe?

First, pull the drawer as far as it comes smoothly. When it gets stuck just lift the drawer a little bit then try again to bring it out. After successful removal of the drawer check the whole cabinet and the bottom part of the drawer. This will help to find the problem easily and fix it.

Final Note

Drawers keep opening by themselves or not closing both are very disturbing experiences. This kind of issue happens mainly to those who hardly get time to keep items properly. Again, those whose children randomly run into the drawer as a part of the game also face. 

There might be numerous methods to count on how to fix dresser drawers that slide open. All you need is to trust yourself and follow any of the methods + steps accordingly. Best wishes