Is Your Door Latch Jammed? Here's How You Can Quickly Fix It

If your door latch rubs against the strike plate, or worse, is stuck inside it, it's easy to jump to conclusions. A lot of people either call a local repair professional or replace the hardware right away. Most of the time, however, jammed latches aren't the result of anything complicated. It's simply the case that the internal mechanism has shifted slightly. Here's How : All you need is a screwdriver and a few minutes to fix a misaligned door latch. This low-cost, beginner-friendly fix will have the latch gliding smoothly past the strike plate in no time. And it's something you can confidently do without having to take anything apart.

Door latches rely on very specific alignment to operate. If they change position, which happens when the internal mechanism loosens with use, the latch no longer glides cleanly through the hole in the strike plate. It grates against the sides of the opening or gets stuck behind the plate, leaving your door hanging open. Tackling the problem right away saves you time and money. It gets your door working again without the cost of hiring a professional or paying for specialty parts and tools. Plus, you'll no longer have to use a doorstop to keep it closed or listen to it bang open and closed with drafts.

The success of this hack also depends on the type of doorknob you have. There are many different types of handles you should know about before updating your doors. This fix only works on handles with a retractable latch. Once you've confirmed you're dealing with the correct type of mechanism, take a close look at the screws on the interior side of the doorknob. Instead of removing anything from the door, gently loosen the screws just enough to relax them. You should be able to wiggle the two halves of the knob while they're attached to the door. Slowly rotate or adjust the knob housing while watching the latch. As soon as you see the latch line up cleanly with the opening in the strike plate, hold the knob securely in place. Retighten the screws.

To take this DIY repair a step further, check the alignment of the strike plate. Fine-tune the fit by tightening the plate or nudging it a hair to one side or the other with a chisel. If the latch still refuses to slip out from behind the strike plate, the problem may be a less common issue, such as an internal latch failure or a misaligned door. In that case, it's time to call a locksmith. If the entire mechanism is loose, the latch won't align, either. A quick fix that'll save your wobbly doorknob from falling off — at least until a professional arrives — is threading a cable tie through the hardware.