Flashes of Panic

Unlike my first iPod, the squeak in the bathroom door at the Amherst house can, in fact, be fixed.

I wouldn’t ordinarily be too disturbed by a squeaky door, but this one shrieked, and every time I closed or opened the door in the middle of the night I was sure I was waking up the whole house. My first instinct was to find a bottle of WD-40 and give the hinge a squirt, but fortunately there wasn’t one handy, and I had to do some research instead.

The best instructions I found pointed out that WD-40 isn’t much use as a lubricant (though it’s a great solvent for cleaning the hinges) and that my second guess, graphite powder (I didn’t have any of that handy, either) was likely to be a big mess.

Getting the pin out wasn’t too hard, but it was pretty grimy. I levered it out with a screwdriver to start, but I needed to tap the screwdriver pretty hard once or twice to get it un-jammed. Once it was out, I wiped it down first and then went at it with a small piece of sandpaper until it was pretty bright.

I could’ve used bike chain grease to re-lubricate the pin if mine wasn’t with my bike (which is to say, at the other end of the state) but I did have handy option #2, petroleum jelly, which I often use to keep the sockets on my spikes loose. I applied a liberal coat to the pin, dropped it back in the hinge, and sure enough: it now swings quietly.

Now Playing: Keeps My Body Warm from Strangest Places by Abra Moore

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