How to Stop a Door From Slamming Shut – Best Anti Door Slam Products

How to Stop a Door From Slamming Shut

We all want a peaceful home and a slamming door can be a burden that disrupts any tranquility. Whether a door gets caught by the wind or door slamming occurs without much effort at all, you will want to stop it.

A slamming door can be a hazard for your pets and especially your child and their fingers. You should also look out for the wall that the door handle could be slamming into.

First, you should try to find out the source of the slamming door. It could be an overzealous, occasionally angry member of your household.

How to Stop a Door From Slamming Shut

The door slamming could also be due to an open window and pressure changes. That’s right, air movement can cause a slamming door as the high pressure from outside the house moves to a low-pressure area indoors. 

The door frame itself and the door hinges could be at fault if the door is unevenly balanced and creates a swing. If you can fix the door to be perfectly vertical, that should eradicate the problem.

If you have exhausted all other options, then follow our guide. There are several simple products that can prevent a door from slamming shut.

Door Wedge

You may want to keep your door open to prevent the door from slamming shut. The easiest solution for that is to use a door wedge. These are also called door stops and are small, triangular-shaped pieces of wood, plastic, or rubber.

This is a simple, low-tech solution that can even add some style to your home with a decorative design.

They are also typically really cheap too and you should be able to order a basic rubber door wedge for a few dollars. Matching the style of your home or door would not be too difficult with a chrome or stainless steel coating. 

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Simply slide a door wedge under the bottom of the door and it should remain open. You may want to pull the door back just to check that the door wedge is firmly in place.

Try to measure the gap between the door and the floor to ensure that the door wedge will fit. The shallow edge is supposed to fit snugly under the door and it should be a tight fit. Too loose and the wedge can be pushed aside, leaving the door free to slam shut.

Another benefit is that the door wedge can keep the door open. This can also help with air ventilation and airflow, which is important in humid conditions. 

Felt Pads

For heavier doors, you can use self-stick felt pads as an alternative to prevent door slamming. Felt pads are usually a solution to prevent furniture from scratching a beloved floor, though they work really well for preventing the noise that doors make from slamming too.

These provide a soft barrier, which will absorb the impact of a slamming door and prevent the noise from occurring quite as loudly.

They are also super easy to apply as they come with self-adhesive surfaces which easily stick to dry surfaces.

You can place felt pads, such as these from Gorilla Grit, on the top and bottom of the door frame along the edge. They can also be placed for the strike plate, at the top and bottom, to further prevent a firm contact from the door.

If the door slamming is truly excessive, then place a couple more felt pads above the door lock and handle. 

Try not to apply them on the bottom mantle, as you may find that the door sticks, which is not what you want. Check that the door is fully closed as you want to prevent the door from slamming shut, not closing completely.

When applied properly, these can act as a cushion to provide a long-term solution that you barely notice. The felt pads are also a discreet and wholly reusable option that you can reapply throughout the home.

Hydraulic Door Closers

The most ideal solution to a door slamming shut is to make it nigh on impossible. With hydraulic door closers such as one from Onarway, you can prevent someone from using excessive force to slam a door and you can prevent a gust of wind from slamming shut a door.

A hydraulic door closer works by controlling the velocity of the door and actively providing a countermeasure to slow it down. The closer is attached overhead on the top of the door to pull the door in and control the motion of it closing back into the door frame.

The hydraulic mechanism used fluid to close the door shut with a formidable seal to prevent them from blowing open by wind. All of that is very helpful science yet there are few products as effective, or as elaborate.

However, this may be one of the most expensive solutions out there, and you would have to deal with the equipment on top of your door.

Unless the door slamming is causing a real problem or this is to be installed in your business, you can probably find a less expensive option. A hydraulic door closer can also look quite unseemly in your house and it can be difficult to find one to suit any decor.

Weather Stripping Kit

Should the issue of your door slamming also co-exist alongside a concern with your home’s insulation, then a weather stripping kit could help. This is another simple, minimal fuss product to prevent door slamming, and an extra soft foam strip is a great option.

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This is particularly effective for larger, more cumbersome doors. If your home suffers from drafts and has poor insulation anyway, this is a great option for heat retention.

Clean and dry your door frame first, then measure the door frame from top to bottom to ensure a good fit. You should apply the cushion where your door and the door frame meet to provide a tight seal. Simply press the soft and squishy foam tape into place and that’s it.

Not only will this prevent the door from slamming, but it will muffle sounds too. Once the weather stripping kit has been applied, you may want to check if you can still feel a gust blowing through your home.

Door Bumpers

A door slamming shut is not only an annoying sound, but it can also be destructive for your walls. You may have a particularly tough door knob that smacks into the wall when a door is slammed shut, having a door bumper can prevent a dent or further damage from occurring.

Door bumpers can come in foam, plastic, gel, or rubber form and are affixed to the wall at the point where the door knob makes contact. 

Door Seal

A relatively inexpensive option is a door seal. These are fabric tubes that look like a rolled up towel that lays at the bottom of your door. Not only can they prevent the door from slamming shut, but they can also prevent drafts from sneaking under the door.

Door seals come in pairs of two and the Thermwell Frost King fits most doors. There is also little installation, you just place them in front of the door for a surefire solution.

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If you did not want to buy something that resembles a rolled up towel, then you could just use a rolled up towel instead.

New Door Hinges

Before you try to decide on which product will work best as a door slamming solution, check the door hinges first. A worn-out or imbalanced set of mounted door hinges can result in a door that is not completely vertical.

Checking to see if this is a door slamming problem is quite simple. Open your door to a 90-degree angle, then use a leveling tool on the top to see if the door is balanced. 

You could try tightening the door hinges yet if they are worn out it is best to find a new set. Ensure that the new set of door hinges matches your door and unscrew the top hinge from the door frame. Replace that top hinge first, then check the alignment with a level.

Once you are satisfied with the balance, tighten the hinge on and repeat for the other door hinges. Finally, check the balance once you have replaced all the door hinges, just as a final check. If the door is perfectly balanced then the door slamming should stop. 

If the door hinges are not worn out but require straightening, you may need to buy some anchor screws. These are used when you need to reposition the hole your hinges were fixed to the wall by, only moving them a single millimeter or maybe two, which can make all the difference.

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You should drill a new hole but use a drill bit that is just a bit bigger when compared to the current hole. The hole you drill is effectively replacing the old one, and the anchor screw will compensate for the size difference. 

Of course, you have to ensure that the anchor screw matches the size of the drill bit and it should slide into the hole.

You may need a mallet to wedge in the anchor and repeat the action for the other holes. Once the new holes and the anchor screws are in place you can reattach the hinges with the door.

Finger Pinch Guards

If you have young and curious children, then finger pinch guards are an ideal solution for peace of mind. These ‘pinch’ either side of the door or door frame, preventing the door from slamming.

However, this C-shaped solution from Wittle may make it harder for you to fully close the door which can impact on privacy, though would eliminate the loud noise of a door slamming.

Finger pinch guards can also make for one of the best and affordable baby proofing solutions which we liked in our testing of this product. 

Door Cushion

Similar to a finger pinch guard, a door cushion will cover part of the door to prevent the door from slamming shut. The door cushion is typically made from soft material and goes over the door handle.

Large enough to prevent the slamming door yet thin enough for you to close the door shut. This is an ideal solution for the bedroom where someone may need to leave during the night.

If you want to stop a door from slamming shut and waking anyone up then the Original Cushy Closer Door Cushion may be an ideal solution. 

Final Thoughts

There are several solutions to ensuring that you can prevent your door from slamming shut. You may simply need to do some DIY with a new set of hinges and some anchor screws if the door is unevenly balanced.

Then there are many different products and materials you could buy that could easily fix the problem. From a cheap door wedge to keep your door open and let the air flow through your home. However, if insulation was a problem then a weather stripping kit may be in order.

By affixing an item to the door, you can stop it from slamming shut. A finger pinch guard can protect your child’s fingers from getting caught in a slammed door.

Door cushions simply go over the handle and felt pads are reassuringly simple to install yet do the job. If you still want your door to freely close then just put a door bumper in place to cushion the door and protect your wall.

At the higher end of a budget, you could opt for a hydraulic door closer to calmly close your door. Then again, a rolled up towel or a door cushion would do the trick too.

Whichever solution you choose, the issue of your door slamming shut is one that can be easily, and inexpensively, solved. 

David Cooper
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