Soft Close Cabinet Hinges Not Working?

Soft close hinges are very common kitchen cabinet hinges. Sometimes these small sensitive mechanisms may show some issues or not work. Let’s say your soft close cabinet hinges are not working. Do you replace the whole hinge or call for professionals to fix it for you? The answer is neither.

Hinges have a very common and easy fix that you can do yourself and save yourself some money. In this article, we will elaborate on all the problems that your soft close hinge may have and an easy fix for each of them.

Soft Close Cabinet Hinges Not Working?

A soft close hinge prevents the door from slamming shut. A small door can work with a light hinge setting, but medium and big-size doors require strong hinge settings. Doesn’t matter if it has a strong setting or a light setting; this soft-close hinge uses a sensitive mechanism that may break down or not work for various reasons. 

Wondering how to fix soft close cabinet hinges? Here are all the problems and fixes:

1. Loose screw

The loose screw is the most common problem soft close hinges have. When somewhere in the hinge a screw gets loose, this problem occurs. You can go for best soft close cabinet hinges to avoid this problem.

A screw loose will make the cabinet door get sag downwards. Sometimes a loose screw can cause the hinge to separate, and if it is a big door, the separate hinge will force other hinges to take the load and, as a result, damage them. 

A small door may use one hinge, but a medium and big door use multiple hinges. So if the loose screw is not fixed within a short time, it may damage other hinges, which may require replacement later on.

Solution:

To fix this issue, all you need to do is find that loose screw. After finding the screw, you will need the right type of screwdriver (Flathead or Phillips).

Now that you have everything you need, realign the loosened or hanging door and tightened the loose screw.

Don’t tighten the screw too much. It may cause too much build-up tension, and the screw holes to wear out. Then you will need to make a soft close hinge tension adjustment.

2. Slamming Shut Door

Soft-close hinges work to prevent the door from slamming shut. Basically, doors cant close with much force thanks to soft close hinges. If the hinge doesn’t function properly, it will shut the door with force, and it’s quite annoying.

A soft close hinge may slam shut the door for a few reasons. One reason is if your hinges are not properly aligned; as a result, the door would overlap and collide with each other and close with force. So it is a problem of soft close hinge adjustment.

The second reason could be a loose screw. A loose screw or screw installed incorrectly will also cause the door to slam shut.

Solution:

First, you have to figure out the reason. Close the door and see if the doors are colliding with each other. That means doors are overlapping. For overlapping doors, you need to check the loose screw and tighten it.

If there is no loose screw, then the problem is hinges are aligned incorrectly. You have to align them properly. For that, you may need to uninstall the hinges and reinstall them.

When it comes to blum hinge adjustment, you will find two screws, one on the top and one on the bottom. Hold to the door at proper high or alignment and tighten both screws.

After fixing the overlapping and loose screw issue, the door should shut slowly without making any noise.

3. Door Not Closing

Soft close door hinges have a mechanism that prevents the door from slum shutting. If the mechanism is too strong or robust for its own good, then the door not closing issue occurs. It happens when the setting is too high for the door to close.

And if the setting is too weak or loose, then the opposite will happen. The door will slam shut with force.

This door not closing or door closing slam shut may only happen if the hinge is not installed properly because the mechanism is adjusted during the installation process.

Solution:

Fixing the door not closing issue is very easy. You need to locate the resistance adjust, which is a small screw that has a minus and plus symbol. After locating the screw, you can fit the screw properly. Using a screwdriver like phillips is highly recommended in this instance.

If the soft-close hinge prevents the door from closing, that means you have to lower the resistance. On the other hand, if the door shuts with force, then you need to increase the resistance.

To check if the resistance adjusted correctly or not, close the door a few times and see how it goes.

4. Slow Closing Or Squeaking Door

Sometimes soft close hinge, which doesn’t suppose to make a noise, starts to make an annoying squeaking noise. And door closing is another issue related to that. These two issues may occur if rust forms on the hinge and if there is a lack of lubrication.

A squeaky door can be a pain in the neck. It can turn your modern kitchen into an updated kitchen. You must be wondering how to fix squeaky door hinges? Please read the solution below.

Solution:

A quick and easy fix for squeaking and slow closing doors is applying lubricant. You can apply lubricant spray like a blaster lubricant sprey on the hinge to make it soft. Or, instead of lubricant, you can use grease or oil on the hinge. And adjust soft close hinge speed.

Conclusion

We hope after reading this article, if you ever face soft close cabinet hinges not working problem, then you can fix it yourself without breaking a sweat. There is no need to hire someone else to do what you can do yourself. 

It will not only save you a few bucks but also boost your confidence to do your own work. For some issues, you may need a screwdriver and lubricant or oil. That’s about it; no expensive tools are needed.