For most of us, nothing irritates at night than waking up to the sound of your bed squeaking, or even worse, you trying to fall asleep fast after a long day. Apart from being bothersome, a squeaky wooden bed frame may have an adverse effect on the quality of your sleep, especially if it is loud enough to wake you up in the middle of the night. So, in a previous article, we looked at 9 potential reasons why beds could squeak. Today, let’s see if there is anything that can be done to prevent it.
Definitely, there are a couple of things you can do. Now let’s take a look at some of the most effective way to stop wooden bed frames from squeaking.
Ways to Stop a Wooden Bed from Squeaking
- Cushion the Bed with Plywood
- Use Candlestick to Reduce Squeaking
- Check the Joints, Tighten and Lubricate
- Make Use of Your Old Socks
- Cushion Bed Slats Using a Masking Tape
- Cork Competency
- Add Floor Padding
- Change Location of the Bed
- Buy a New Bed Frame
How to Stop a Wooden Bed from Squeaking
1. Use cushion the Bed with Plywood
All the plywood does is to protect bed slats from being in contact with the mattress. This then reduces motion and resulting friction which would have caused squeaking.
In the event that you have tries and rotated your mattress but are still hearing the squeaks, you may want to consider inserting a thin piece of plywood below your mattress. This will help to eliminate the problem to some degree, especially if it was box springs causing the noise. Using a box spring is usually important to make the foundation sturdier and reduce squeaks for a short period of time.
They can be extremely beneficial in this situation but plywood.
2. Use Candlestick to Reduce Squeaking
I know you could be wondering: “How do you use candlestick to reduce squeaking in a bed frame?”
The answer is simple. If you know exactly where the squeak is coming from, you can apply a small amount of wax to that spot to stop the problematic squeak completely. However, if the squeaky joint moves a lot, you might have to reapply the wax again and again as it gets
First, gently brush a candlestick right at the squeaky joint to eliminate the noise. When the two in-contact surfaces glide quietly against each other, the wax will efficiently prevent them surfaces from producing enough friction to cause the loud squeak. You must understand that is not a long-term solution, and the wax may always need to be reapplied, often after every 2 nights, but it can be effective if tightening the nuts and bolts of the bed does not fully eliminate the squeaking noises.
3. Check the Joints, Tighten and Lubricate
Tightening bolts and lubricating is also a great way to stop wooden bed from squeaking.
Wooden bed frames also squeak due to loose bolts. Untightened and rusty bolts is a common cause of a noisy bed frame, and they aren’t quite easy to detect.
Before beginning to consider more serious measures, take a look at your all the joints of the bed to see if any bolts are loose and tighten them if necessary.
WD-40 can be used to lubricate the rusty joints to reduce the likelihood of a repeat squeaking.
4. Make Use of Your Old Socks
Yes, socks can be used to reduce squeaking wooden bed slats.
This method will allow you to put all the mismatched socks to good use. To begin, remove the mattress from the bed frame. Line each bed slat with an old pair of socks on each end of the wood (a sheet or an old T-shirt works too). Because of the piece of cloth inserted between the mattress and wood bed frame, any friction points are eliminated.
As a result, the noise generated by the bed frame will be gone.
5. Cushion Bed Slats Using a Masking Tape
As we have seen above, one of the typical causes of a noisy wooden bed frame is the rubbing of the slats against the main frame (or even against one another). At the basics, you can take old socks, shirts, or towels and such simple solutions available at home to use them as a guard between the slats and the frame.
However, if you want a slightly cleaner job, use a masking tape, although it may cost a few bucks. Get the masking tape and run it along the hook-on side rails. They prevent the slats from rubbing against the inner side of the bed rails.
6. Cork Competency
It is not always necessary to tighten or oil any bolts or joints on a wooden bed frame particularly when the frame is made of wood.
In lieu of this, consider inserting small pieces of cork between your mattress and any parts of your bed frame where you hear squeaking. Alternatively, cork can be placed around the pegs.
The cork cushioning will aid in the tightening of any loose parts as well as the reduction of noise.
7. Add Floor Padding
Assuming that you haven’t discovered the source of the squeaking yet, you could want to intensify your search a little and even get a helping ear.
An uneven floor is usually a major contributor to a rickety or noisy bed. When one of the bed legs hang, the entire wooden bed frame will twist and get loud. To alleviate this irritating imbalance, place cushioning beneath that particular hanging leg of the frame. For instance, you can use a towel or an old blanket and pillow.
However, this is also a temporary solution to a squeaky wooden bed frame.
8. Change Location of the Bed
Don’t despise the idea that where you put the bed on the floor could be the reason for squeakiness.
A squeaky bed is sometimes actually caused by uneven flooring rather than a mechanical problem. Adjust the balance of the frame’s legs by placing a towel or folded sheet between them to ensure that they all contact the floor. Another alternative is to move your bed to an entirely new location where the flooring are of the same height.
Assuming that your bed has been placed on casters, it’s possible that the wheels are faulty and noisy. To stop the squeak, try lubricating the wheels with WD-40. If that doesn’t stop it, replace them with new caster cups from your local store.
9. Buy a New Bed Frame
Although wooden bed frames can last up to 20 years, at some point, they get old and begin to squeak more often. Under such circumstances, the other 8 solutions might not help much.
Buying a new bed frame may be necessary if you have exhausted all those other possibilities and are still unable to resolve the squeakiness. For a bed frame that can be used with your current bedding including mattress and sheets.
If, on the other hand, you’re accustomed to how a box spring feels, you might want to think about changing to a new one instead.
Final Say
Overall, in the event that your wood bed frame continues to squeak, you have multiple steps to take: (1) Re-tightening nuts and bolts; (2) re-adjusting the slats; (3) adjusting the wood running from the headboard to the footboard; and (4) applying wax to any places that consistently squeak are all recommended. Always remember to avoid using any form of oil since it will easily soak into the wood and generate bad smell as well as cause a buildup of heavy dust. When it comes to quieting a noisy hardwood bed frame, bees wax might also be your best bet.