Submitted by aram535 t3_122ome7 in DIY

My house is about 20 years old and my medicine cabinet door seems to stay open about 0.5" to 2" all the time. I checked out the two hinges and the screws are all tight, the door is in the right position. Is there anything else I can check or tighen to get the door to close properly or is it just time to replace the hinges?

Edit: Imgur: https://imgur.com/BzJaRhq

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hypnogoad t1_jdr3iaa wrote

Are they soft-close hinges, or just normal hinges?

If they're normal, just get a cabinet door magnetic to hold it. Replacing the hinges themselves may or may not fix the problem, depending on how well you install them.

If they're soft-close, there's an adjustment screw on them that may help, or else they are faulty and require replacement.

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aram535 OP t1_jdrrx9c wrote

They're standard hinges. I'll check on the magnets see if they have some generic type on amazon or home depot. That's a simple idea.

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zedsmith t1_jdr3mxv wrote

Kinda depends on the hinges, and how the door is designed to rest within the box of the cabinet. Pics, as always, would help.

There might be hinge adjustments you can make, or you might be able to add a magnetic closure to the non-hinge size of the door.

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markphahn t1_jdsi3kt wrote

This looks like a "Blum 33.3600 Compact 33 Screw on 110 Degree Opening Face Frame Hinge". There are cheap to buy on Amazon (or other places) and easy to replace.

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SkiVail01 t1_jdttqhw wrote

100% this. I replaced all my old blum kitchen cabinet door hinges with new blum hinges when I painted them and all of the doors suddenly 'snapped' closed and stayed in that position. Replace all the hinges, you'll be happy that you did.

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AsTheWeedTumbles t1_jdxbshs wrote

Yes, and they have a mechanism inside to hold the door closed that wears out. OP will be happy swapping them out and it is preferred over something like a magnet to hold the door closed.

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ReplacementFluids t1_jds6jt5 wrote

I have a similar issue, on my hinges there is a little plastic piece lining the arm that like to break off and cause this. Similar vintage house and hinge type.

I still haven’t been able to track down the make/model to even find out if the piece is serviceable or not. I’m using those little hard Velcro strips until enough break to warrant new hardware.

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aram535 OP t1_jds7u0d wrote

OH velcro is a doable idea too and I have white velcro dots which would work well.

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Redarrow762 t1_jdv8wvk wrote

I have the same situation. Open a cupboard door, some small white plastic shards fall, now the door will not stay closed. Great design.

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ThePrinceVultan t1_jdrq29n wrote

If you could take a photo and upload it to like Imgur and drop the photo link here people will be able to better advise you :)

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Homer_JG t1_jdrq5ly wrote

Is the door bowed out maybe? Old wooden cabinet doors will do that, especially in a high humidity situation like a bathroom.

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aram535 OP t1_jdrtwkr wrote

No it's all mirrors on top and plastic on the inside- I can gently push it with my hand to close it and it'll align no issue. It doesn't remain closed all the way, it'll ajar about .25-.5" away.

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essaitchthrowaway3 t1_jdsjzkd wrote

Replace the hinge with another euro-style hinge. I don't know that specific one, but on some euro hinges you can see the spring that closes the door. In your photo I don't see that hinge, so maybe it broke or simply wore out and get stretched so it doesn't close the door any more.

If you measure the screw spacing and the cup size you can probably just replace the hinge for a few bucks. A new hinge should have a more positive snap closed action to it.

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anarchyreigns t1_jdrtwwt wrote

That fifth screw on the hinge is the one you need to adjust, it changes the door closure angle.

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aram535 OP t1_jdru3pu wrote

I didn't check with a screw driver of any heft but it seems pretty tight. Let me try it and report back.

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Mission_Rip_4828 t1_jdrvcyo wrote

You are not looking for tight. Tight could be the reason it wont close all the way. Those screws change the angle of the door when its closed.

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aram535 OP t1_jds7wmn wrote

I tried multiple depths and tight as possible, the looser they get the larger the opening.

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wolfie379 t1_jdry6ih wrote

Are you even sure you have the right hinges? Euro hinges are available as inset (edge of side panel exposed, outer surface of door is flush with edge of side panel when closed), half overlap (side panel is shared by 2 cabinets, inner surface of door sits against side panel when closed, each door overlaps half of side panel), and full overlap (each cabinet has its own side panel, door overlaps whole side panel when closed), and they look pretty much the same.

Is there something (piece of sawdust?) pinched between the metal and the laminate, so the metal is at a slight angle? When magnified by the length of the door, this could result in a gap caused by the angle being more than the door closure adjusting screw can compensate for.

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aram535 OP t1_jds7oy5 wrote

These are original to the house not something I installed. It could be that they have bent the plastic overtime and now the angle is wrong but that's as far as something behind them as it gets for me.

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sarg368 t1_jdsdsrv wrote

There are 5 screws in the picture. Two in mounting the hinge it the cabinet and two mount the hinge to the door. The one in the middle is the one you need to adjust.

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Signal-Ad8087 t1_jdtccrk wrote

Don't those hinges adjust? Hard to tell but generally there is a screw on the middle inside to adjust them. Take a look here

https://youtu.be/nPoN9h10YDY

If not, just replace the hinges. They're cheap enough to rule them out. Ive seen them get bent out of whack. Adding a magnet as Ive seen suggested is a waste of time/money. It's trying to accommodate something that doesn't work correctly to begin with.

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Nsvgcm777 t1_jdsuq7k wrote

When my HVAC was upgraded they said to just pour half a cup of bleach down it twice a year.

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