by Bud Jillett
Dear Mr. Fixit,
Upon
opening up for the spring, I’ve found my sliding glass door very hard to open
and close. The screen slider is also the same way, as are some of the sliding
windows in my apartment. The sticking doors and windows all make a scraping
sound. My boyfriend thought of greasing the bottom track, but of course I
immediately pointed out the grease would be tracked in. Any ideas?
Sincerely,
Save me
from the grease option!
Dear Save
Me,
Don’t
grease the track. In fact, do the opposite, clean out the track using Fantastic
or 409 spray and paper towels. Grease will only attract dust, dirt, and grime,
which will cause further issues with your slider (though it might actually seem
to work great for about a day).
Once you
have a nice, clean track, find the small hole on the latching edge of your
door, no more than one to three inches from the bottom, depending on the
design. Look inside with a flashlight and you will hopefully see a screw to
turn. Using the appropriate screwdriver, turn the screw clockwise until you
feel it “catch.” Once it feels like you’re actually turning something, give the
screw another turn. If you pay attention you may even see or feel the heavy
slider door lift ever so slightly. Try sliding the door back and forth. If it’s
still a bit sticky, give the screw another turn.
Though in
my experience, it’s usually the latch side that needs adjustment, repeat the
procedure on the opposite edge of the door, too. Adjust to your liking.
Your screen
slider should have a similar adjustment. Screens take quite a beating and it’s
possible the wheel may be stuck, cracked, or missing altogether. If so, The
Home Depot and other hardware stores have a fair assortment of replacement
parts. To access the rollers at the screen’s bottom, use a flat head screwdriver
to lift the rollers off the track, then grab the slider from on each side near
the bottom, lift up and pull out. To reinstall the slider after you replace the
rollers, just reverse this procedure.
Occasionally,
you will be pleasantly surprised and find that all you have are gummed up
rollers. Use a non-petroleum based solvent to degrease and remove the grime
from the rollers. Acetone based solvents work well for this.
To
lubricate rollers and track, again do NOT use petroleum-based lubricants. Use
silicone spray, which I have found at Wal-Mart, and may be available at other
hardware stores. It is a bit difficult to find, but the brand I have found at
Wal-Mart is CRC Heavy Duty Silicone Multi-Use Lubricant spray. For a
non-petroleum degreaser, you can use brake parts cleaner from the Wal-Mart Auto
Department. Cost: about $1.00 for the non-brand name can, which works fine. The
silicone spray is in or around the same department, not too far from the brake
parts cleaner, usually on a lower shelf, shoved in the back, all by its
lonesome self. Look hard!
—Mr. Fixit
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