The hinge that won't shut up
Every house has one hinge that screams. You hear it at night, from the next room.
It isn't broken. It's dry. Three different things go wrong at a hinge, and each one has its own fix.
Dry and squealing. Pull the pin: tap it up from below with a screwdriver and a hammer. Wipe the rust off with steel wool. One drop of oil at the top of the pin, so gravity carries it down. Real oil, or white lithium grease. Not cooking spray, not butter. People try both, and both gum up.
Worn pin. If the pin wiggles inside the knuckle, that hinge is done. A replacement is a few dollars and ten minutes.
Screaming under weight. The door is sagging and the top hinge is carrying all of it. Tighten the top screws first, then the bottom. If a screw spins, the wood is stripped. A longer screw, or a matchstick dipped in glue tapped into the hole, gives it something to bite.
Order matters. Quiet it before you tighten it, or you'll be back at it in a month, louder.
One more: on a heavy door, a third hinge in the middle stops the top one from doing all the work.
First move free, like they all are. Tell me what's broken at your place. More: paper.wf/kaelfixes