Every morning for three months, I tightened the knob on the silverware drawer. Every evening, it was loose again. Tighten. Loosen. Tighten. Loosen. I was in an abusive relationship with a cabinet knob. The screw was not stripped. The wood was not cracked. So why would it not stay tight?

Turns out cabinet knobs loosen for a few specific reasons, and each has a specific fix that takes under two minutes. You do not need new cabinets. You do not need a handyman. You probably already have the fix in a junk drawer.

The Threadlocker Fix (Most Common)

If the screw threads are intact — not stripped — and the knob still loosens, vibration from opening and closing the drawer slowly backs the screw out. A drop of blue threadlocker (Loctite Blue 242 or any brand) on the screw threads solves this permanently.

Remove the screw, put one small drop of threadlocker on the threads, screw it back in, and tighten firmly. Wait an hour before using the drawer. The threadlocker cures into a vibration-proof grip that you can still remove later with a screwdriver — it is not glue. It is designed to be removable.

If you do not have threadlocker, a tiny dab of clear nail polish on the threads works the same way. My mother did this on her kitchen knobs fifteen years ago and they are still tight.

The Lock Washer Fix

Many cabinet knobs come with a flat washer but no lock washer. A lock washer is the one with a split in it — it acts like a spring, pushing back against the screw head and preventing it from backing out. Add one between the screw head and the cabinet interior. They cost about two cents each at any hardware store.

Take one knob to the store with you to match the screw size. Buy a dozen lock washers. Install them on every loose knob in the house in one go.

When the Hole Is the Problem

Sometimes the screw hole in the cabinet door has worn larger over time. The screw threads have nothing solid to grip. Two fixes:

• Toothpick trick: Remove the screw. Coat a wooden toothpick or two with wood glue, jam them into the hole, and snap off the excess flush with the surface. Let the glue dry for an hour. Screw the knob back in — the toothpicks give the threads new material to bite into.
• Longer screw: If the current screw just barely catches, a screw that is 1/4 inch longer may reach fresh wood deeper in the door. Measure the old screw, buy one slightly longer, and test. Do not go so long that it pokes through the cabinet front.

I did the toothpick trick on my silverware drawer. It has been six months. The knob has not moved.