Finally Silence Your Creaky Bed
Nothing spoils the mood like a creaky bed. Think of all the times in your life when an insistent squeak or creak got in the way of the perfect moment: jumping on a mattress with your entire extended family for an influencer photo shoot. Jumping out of the bed you share with three other grandparents because your grandson’s chocolate bar had the winning golden ticket. Jump on a blanket covered in all the cash you received from the last heist.
Here’s our guide to how to silence your squeaky bed once and for all so you never have to worry about the perfect moment being marred by a constant squeaky sound again.
Find a source
The first step to fixing this creaking sound is to determine the cause of the problem. Start by pressing and increasing pressure on different areas of your bed until you identify the general area causing the noise. There are three main sources of a squeaky bed:
1) Box spring. This is most likely the culprit. Since the wood frame is likely the cause of the squeak, there are many quick home fixes for the box spring problem.
2) Bed frame. Loose bolts or warped wood can lead to squeaking, but they’re also easy to fix with home remedies.
3) Spring mattress. According to Kasper , the internal spring is a common cause of squeaking. Unfortunately, this means it’s time to completely replace the mattress.
Solutions to silence the creak
Once you’ve identified the source of the squeak, here’s how to fix the problem so you can get back to jumping on your bed in complete silence.
Tighten all loose screws. Take a wrench or screwdriver and tighten all the bolts along the bed frame joints.
Lubricate with WD-40. This is the standard solution for any squeaky sound in your life. Apply a little WD-40 around the spring block and at the seams of the bed frame or where wood meets wood or metal meets metal. Seriously: when in doubt, use WD-40 .
Reduce friction with extra cushioning. If tightening loose bolts and WD-40 doesn’t fix the squeak, you may need to create some kind of noise dampening pad. Take a few socks, an old shirt, or washcloths and place them between the sources of friction surrounding your bed. Add padding between the slats and frame, box spring and mattress, or legs and floor (especially if you have an uneven floor).
If all else fails, it’s time to replace the mattress.
Hopefully these homemade solutions will be enough to muffle the squeak, but chances are the problem is coming from inside the mattress. Here’s our guide to determining when it’s time to invest in the best mattress.
Otherwise, the secret to a quiet bed usually comes down to eliminating sources of friction. Just like the secret to a happy relationship, right? Right.