Stayed at my aunt's place in Portland and noticed her trick for a sticky door

Her bedroom door was sticking at the top pretty bad, so I figured I'd offer to plane it down. But she just grabbed her blow dryer and hit the swollen spot for a few minutes, then rubbed a candle along the edge where it rubs. The wax filled the gap and it swung smooth as new. Anyone else use heat and wax instead of actually removing wood?

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.jennifer1mo ago

kinda genius honestly. i just woulda grabbed a plane and made a mess, never thought to wax it like a damn candle.

martinez.karen1mo ago

Yeah that's brilliant. @ellis.jennifer I'm with you, I would have been all set to sand or plane it and made a huge dusty mess. I did the same thing last year on my kitchen drawer that swells up every spring. Just took a regular household candle and ran it along the edge that was sticking, then hit it with a hair dryer for 30 seconds. Worked like a charm and I didn't have to take anything apart or refinish it. The wax just fills in that little gap so the wood slides instead of catching. I've done it twice now on different things around the house and it holds up for months before you need to touch it up. Way easier than the actual fix.