A squeaky bed is annoying, keeps you up at night and makes you want to sleep on the couch rather than the bedroom. The bed makes all sorts of noise whenever you turn.
After you’ve had the piece of furniture for some time, it starts to get loud once in a while. This is a problem particularly for wooden ones. Fortunately, we’re here to help you find a solution. So, why do beds squeak anyway?
Let’s jump into it the 7 reasons.
Beds do squeak due to loose joints that have rubbed against each other for long. Squeaking could also be due to faulty box springs, unprotected slats, overloading and imbalanced bed rises. A bed also squeaks if it is not greased in metallic parts.
When there are two pieces of wood rubbing against each other, it often gets noisy. Also, when the slats running across the width of the bedframe knock against the hook-on rails, the squeaking sound can be expected.
Why Do Beds Squeak?
- Unprotected slats.
- Rugged floor.
- Recent cleaning or vacuuming of bed frame.
- Moving the bed around.
- Imbalanced bed risers.
- Faulty box springs.
- Overloading the bed.
1. Unprotected Slats
Slats run across the bed from the hook-on rail on the left to the other on the right. These rails support the slats for the entire length of the bed.
When there is rubbing between those two parts of the frame, a less pleasant noise could come out. Depending on the type you use, the squeaking arising from bed slats may vary.
2. Beds Squeak Due to Rugged Floor
Inspect your floor to ensure that it is flat. Sometimes, a non-flat floor creates an imbalanced bed. Also make sure that there is nothing supported beneath the bed legs that could cause an unstable support.
3. Recent Cleaning or Vacuuming of Bed Frame
While cleaning the bedroom, you might have dismantled some joints to make the cleaning process easy. While re-assembling the bed, you might have not done the job well enough.
Usually, a single joint not properly tightened can distribute the weakness to other joints making the entire bed to stark making noises.
4. Moving the Bed around
Those in a habit of frequently moving the bed from one spot to another to test the best location for the bed might experience squeaking. And by this I mean too much relocation. Every night, some people have to sleep in a different spot. Moving any piece of furniture that much can be a bad idea.
Moving a bed, especially by dragging it on the floor can weakened joints. Usually, it is either one or all the four corners that cause the noise.
5. Imbalanced Bed Risers
If you recently installed risers, the additions might have caused some imbalance or weakening of joints.
Have a look at the risers to see if one was not fixed properly.
6. Faulty Box Springs
Just check to make sure that the box springs are not the cause of squeaking. Sometimes we might think the bed is causing the horrible noise but it could be the box springs.
Have you confirmed that box springs are not responsible? Then we are good in that department.
7. Overloading the Bed
If the bed is meant for a child below 10 years, then it is expected to squeak when a 250-pound adult sleeps on it.
How many of you are sleeping in that bed? What happens when only one person sleeps on it? Does it still squeak? Some bed frames are not meant to carry many people.
If the bed does not squeak when only one person sleeps on it, then it is time you slept on it alone until a solution for the squeaking is found.
Generally, extremely heavy weight on top of the bed might be the cause of the constant squeaking.
How to Fix a Squeaky Bed
To fix a squeaky bed, use a masking tape on the hook-on side rails, insert a strip between gaps, tighten nuts and bolts, add round sliding disks, and lubricate. Other times, the bed just gets out of hand and the best option to fix the noise is to replace it entirely.
Sometimes, you may need to change sleeping position.
To brace a weak noisy bed, you can take a number of measures. Here are some of the things you can do to stop the bed from squeaking too much.
There are a number of ways to quiet the noise. Some of the tips we share here will depending on the origin of the screeching. Here are what to do to fix squeaking bed:
1. Locate the source of sound
But before doing anything, take the bedding and mattress off. Once you’re successful in that, go ahead and conduct the initial inspection. Gaps in the frame joints are usually the first to check.
To locate a gap, hold one corner of the bed and push it back and forth gently while paying attention to the source of the sound.
Not all parts will screech. For instance, the headboard rarely makes any sound. For the mattress, only brand new ones sometimes make a short-lived noise.
It is usually one or two joints that cause the troubling noise. Rocking the frame back and forth will help you narrow down the source of noise.
2. Use a masking tape
Get the masking tape and run it along the hook-on side rails. See the picture below.
The blue masking tape nice raps the inner section of the side trails. What this does is that it prevents that slats from rubbing against the side rails.
Doing this for a King size bed will take about 2 minutes.
You don’t even need two people to do this. Just pick up the tape, remove the slats and wrap the tape and you’re good to go.
3. Tighten Nuts and Bolts
Check that the correct bolts and nuts went in the correct spot as they had been before you disassembled it.
If you have a different type of bed that’s joined using nuts and bolts, then go ahead and grab your spanners. Tighten the nuts and bolts while pushing the bed gently until when the squeaking had completed gone.
4. Insert a strip between gaps
Get a roll of felt tapes that they put below the bed legs so that it doesn’t scratch the floor. This would prevent the wood-wood contact by filling a possible gap that’s causing the annoying sounds.
As an alternative to felt strips, you can use sponge foams for every single end of the slats as illustrated below. Using the sponge foams might take a little more time. About 10-15 minutes to complete a king size bed.
5. Add Round sliding disks
The sticky round sliding disks are also worth trying. On top of the felt strips for the bottom part of the slats, their pointed faces that rube against the inner walls of the hook-on rails also need to be secured.
Using the slide disks should also fix the problem of endless squeaking.
6. Lubrication
When screeching is due to two pieces of metal rubbing against each other, lubrication usually does everything. Try it out and see if it helps.
Get a spray lubricant to grease the bolts. This will even access hidden joints that may not be accessible using other lubrication methods.
7. Change you sleeping position
The noise can sometimes get louder when you sleep at a specific area of the bed. The solution would be to change how the weight is distributed on the bed. This will ensure that the pressure point causing squeakiness is shifted to a different and more stable side of the bed.
8. Throw the bed away
In case you have had the that piece of furniture for more than 10 years, it might be time to find a new one. Wood gets old and it reaches a point when repairing a bed is not worth it.
Getting an entirely new bed. It can solve the problem instantly although this comes at a cost.
Replacing an old one could help prevent not only the irritating sound but also hip and back pain too.
I hope one of those solutions helps you.