That door. You know the one. The bedroom door that announces your 2am bathroom trip to the whole house. The hallway door that sings every time the heat kicks on. I lived with a squeaky hinge for months before I realized the fix takes about thirty seconds and costs zero dollars.

Oil it, anything oily

You do not need WD-40, though it works great. Vegetable oil, olive oil, or cooking spray all do the job in a pinch. The goal is to get a few drops into the hinge pin, which is the metal rod the door swings on.

1. Open the door partway so the hinge pins are visible.
2. Put a few drops of oil at the top of each hinge pin, where it meets the hinge barrel.
3. Open and close the door a few times to work the oil in.
4. Wipe any drips off the hinge and the floor.

No oil? Use soap

If the kitchen is far away, rub a bar of soap or a candle along the hinge pin. The soap acts as a dry lubricant and quiets the squeak. Petroleum jelly works too, dab it on with a finger or a cotton swab. I have used all three, and the cooking spray is honestly the easiest because it reaches into the gaps without any effort.

If it still squeaks

Sometimes the noise is not the pin, it is the screws working loose in the frame. Tighten every screw on the hinge with a screwdriver, even the ones that look fine. A loose screw lets the door sag, and a sagging door drags on the frame and squeaks no matter how much oil you use.

For hinges that are old and rusty, pull the pin out completely, wipe it clean, and rub it down with a little oil before putting it back. Rust is the squeak factory, and a clean pin is silent.

I fixed all three squeaky doors in my house in about ten minutes with a bottle of cooking spray. Now the only sound the doors make is the click of the latch. My 2am bathroom trips are finally stealth.