Fixing Kitchen Cabinet Closures

Adjust your cabinet door closures with ease.

Cabinet closures are spring-like jaws that pinch bullet-shaped ends to keep cabinet doors closed. Another type utilizes two opposing magnets that come together to hold the cabinet door shut. The spring loaded type often lose their resiliency from countless opening and closing of the cabinet doors. The magnet type often fail because of misaligned magnet points caused from bumping them or screws coming loose. Whatever the reason, they are easy to fix.

Things You'll Need

• Phillips screwdriver

Instructions

Spring Type

1. Grab the cabinet door with your fingers and pull lightly on it. If it pulls free of the enclosure with little or no pressure, reach in and grab the two small jaws with your fingers.

2. Jiggle the jaws back and forth. If they are loose, use a screwdriver to tighten them. Grab the bullet-shaped male end on the cabinet door. Jiggle it back and forth, if it is loose, tighten it with the screwdriver.

3. Reach into the cabinet and grab the jaws with your fingers. Pinch them shut with your fingers. Bend them hard until you feel them bend slightly. Close the cabinet door. Open the cabinet door. If you have to use an unusually amount of pressure to get the door open, bend the jaws open a little at a time with your fingers until the door opens with a slight tug. If it opens too easily, bend them shut a bit at a time until satisfied.

Magnetic Type

1. Open the cabinet door. Grab the small block-like object that holds the magnets. Attempt to move it from side to side. If it moves, tighten it with a screwdriver. Grab the small metal plate on the cabinet door. Try to move it. If it moves tighten it with a screwdriver.

2. Check the alignment of the magnetic block on the cabinet and the plate on the door. They should both be either vertical or horizontal. If either one is diagonal, grab it and twist it to align it with its counterpart.

3. Tighten all the screws. Shut the cabinet door. It should shut with an audible "click" and release with a light tug on the handle. If it doesn't, check your alignment again and make adjustments.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't hear the click and the door won't stay shut on magnetic closures, one of the magnetic components is missing or defective, you can't fix it. You will need to replace the magnetic block with a new one.