I have two interior door handles that won’t turn. (If it matters: one locks, the other is non-locking.) I was wondering if I take the handle off, should I spray WD-40 onto the moving parts within the door knob? Or, should I use graphite as a lubricant instead? Will WD-40 cause problems, if not now…down the road? Thanks!
Are these on two different doors, or opposite sides of the same door?
WD40 is not really a good lubricant. They make a graphite in suspension spray or liquid that would likely be a better choice.
Remove the knob assembly and see if the latch itself can be moved. You might need to insert a screwdriver and twist.
It might be easier in the long run to remove and replace the whole thing. Should only need a screwdriver or two.
GaryM
My father’s favorite household lubricant was Vaseline. It works surprisingly well and isn’t nearly as much of a potential mess as graphite.
WD40 would do better cleaning the old grease out than any future lubrication.
Never use liquid lubricants on locks!
Use only Graphite, teflon, or silicone spray. Anything else will tend to trap dirt and make things worse over time.
Grind up a bit of pencil lead for a cheap source of powdered graphite … work great … but you’ll have to work it in so if the lockset is already frozen then buy new …
In the long run, this is not a good suggestion. It may have worked fine for your dad, but Vaseline is not a good long term lube for doors.
Always try WD40 first.
Then, after you get the handle to move, take it off, clean off any gunk and rusts, rub 3 in 1 oil onto it, and put it back.
IME if you need to remove the door latch assembly, you might as well replace everything.
Or skip the WD40 since that’s just extra gunk that you have to remove. And then use a proper lubricant after cleaning, which automatically excludes thin oils like 3-in-1.
I don’t know, the ones I have cleaned and reassembled have generally given me another 15 years. That’s not bad and it really is only a little longer to clean then to install new.
Do you buy high-end sets?
Are they lightly used?
At work I removed a troublesome lock-set that gets used dozens of times a day. After about three years of heavy use it was beyond redemption. Metal had turned to powder. It was a cheapie have model.
WD40 loosen up the gunk so you can work and then remove the part. If you try to force something first, you might break it. Not old cast hardware, but possibly newer white metal.
Under no circumstances use WD40 as a lubricant unless your life depends on lubricating something in the next 5 minutes and that’s the only thing you can find in the next 4 minutes.
Unless you need to remove a python from the underside of a bus I would stay away from the stuff.
Graphite or silicone spray. Locks generally don’t need a lot of lubrication so it’s likely something is binding. Take it apart and see if all the parts move individually. it’s easy to bang into a lock while moving something large and jam it up.
For clarify, it is two different doors with the same situation. I guess I will simply replace both door handles. I thought there may be a penny-saving solution, but regarding problems, I’m probably just kicking the can down the road - as they say - as opposed to getting to the root of the problem. As they also say “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later!”
Good point, I am talking home use. The quality varies but most were basically Kwikset quality except the front door. That is a heavy duty 1960 lock, not sure of the brand. I have rebuilt twice with no signs of serious fatigue.
Of course, I assumed we were talking home use based on the OP.
umm… They won’t turn at all? Or are they just tight/stiff? Did this happen over time?
Lets back it up a bit. When you say the handles don’t turn, are the door latches binding when the door is open or just when closed?
WD-40 isn’t a lubricant … it’s used as a penetrating oil because it evaporates so quickly … and the spray tends to blow crap out of the mechanism … it’s fine to use to free things up and get them moving, but always come back and use an actual lubricant to keep the thing moving … unless of course it’s not supposed to move, in which case apply duct tape …
Unless they’re particularly nice or antique, just replace with new. Locksets for interior doors are not particularly expensive and they’re really easy to install.