Improperly closing doors is a matter that everyone would drive nuts. Have you noticed in your household that this issue occurs, especially when the air becomes hot in your area? how to stop doors swelling in summer If you are annoyed by a swollen door and have lost peace of mind by the threat of breaking-ins, this is the most urgent question you search on. Wooden doors and structures get swollen, especially on their edges, when it comes to the hottest season of the year. You may have experienced this on your own. The reason for this is the increased humidity of the surrounding. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere in your area. In summer, the water evaporation rate is high due to high heat. This will form a lot of heated water vapor in the air. Any wood type presents the nature of absorbing moisture. This has made the all-time issue of generations- the swelling of the wooden made doors and windows of houses.
How to Stop Doors Swelling in Summer?
Undoubtedly, we all count the days for the outings of summer, but no one is waiting for a troublesome swollen door. Hence the evaporation and temperature of the surrounding area are nature-controlled facts; we have to search for the precautions we can take with our wooden structures.
How to stop swelling in summer? Let’s look into those now.
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Checking the Arrangement
Did you do a proper inspection of your doors while installing or even just after the installation? Some doors that have not been fixed correctly will cause trouble in closing, and it may not be because of the weather conditions. It is essential to check the work done by the hired technician when you are installing.
If the hinges are not inline, then it occurs closing problems. The same could happen when those joints are loosened. Take a screw and tighten the loosed joints. Therefore, as the first step, examine whether your door or window has been installed in the correct way.
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Applying Heat
If there is no problem with the installation, then you have to look for the swollen area. Probably these could be the edges of the door. Find the affected area by moisture and apply heat on those surfaces using a hairdryer or a heat gun. Make sure the heating appliance is kept 30 cm away from the wooden structure. High heat will change the structure of wood as it will be subjected to thermal expansion.
When you apply heat from the recommended distance, the absorbed moisture will evaporate into the atmosphere.
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Applying Paint
If you have decided to apply waterproof paint to your doors and window, it would be a wise investment of all time! Applying varnish and lacquer on the cleaned wooden surfaces will protect those from any seasonal weather changes. Polyurethane paint is also one of the best options you can follow. Polyurethane has the ability to provide an insulated media as it is basically plastic-derived.
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Applying Lubricants
Petroleum jelly, wax, a store-bought lubricant, soap, etc., can be used as a lubricant in your doors. You should apply the lubricant on the edges where the door is touched with the frame.
The lubricant solution will not last long. As the next step, you can follow the permanent methods described in this article.
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Sanding
Sanding removes a certain percentage of the wood to take the evenly finished nature. But this method has a huge drawback when it comes to the cold days again, as sanding in summer may result in a shape change. If your area is mostly humid all over the year or rainy with a higher range of humidity, then you can go for this step, obviously. Otherwise, we recommend not doing sanding to remove wood as it changes the structure.
Sometimes the layers of paint applied on the door may be the reason. If you have applied paint earlier, without removing the old paint layer, then it will change the shape of your door. Sanding can be used to remove such layers of paint. Then you can apply a suitable primer and go for a waterproof layer.
It would be better if you could do the sanding after you removed the door from the joints. This will make the work easy and more cautious.
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Replacing
If none of the remedies and repairs work, you will have to go for a new one. If so, make sure to use the safety measures that we have explained earlier in this article to prevent moisture absorption from the environment.
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Keeping a Dehumidifier
When there are unseen cracks or damages, moisture will enter the wooden structure even if you install brand-new ones. A dehumidifier becomes a game changer on such occasions.
A dehumidifier attracts air where it is kept and condenses the moisture in air particles. After that, the drawn air is expelled from the machine. Preventing the growth of fungus and dust mites is another notable advantage that is offered by a dehumidifier.
There are humidifiers that are sufficient for one room starting from $50. A larger machine that could draw the air into the whole interior will cost you around $150-$300.
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Proper Ventilation
Good ventilation decreases the amount of moisture inside your house in summer. Activities like having a hot bath and cooking will produce a humid inside. Turning on a fan and opening the windows will help this moisture move out.
Do Swollen Doors Go Back to Normal?
When the swelling is mild, it can be changed back to normal by using any of the methods we have explained in this article. But in serious cases, it is impossible to take the standard shape again.
Verdict
How to stop doors swelling in summer? If this is one of the main problems you meet every summer, do follow the instructions we have explained here. We have explained the issue and what you can do depending on your damage.
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