How To Keep Bifold Doors Closed (Top 5 Ways)

 

Bifold doors are quite popular in many homes.

If you have pantries or closets, chances are good that bifold doors are used to help save space and make for easy and complete access.

It can be very convenient to have bifold doors on your closet or cabinet, but these bifold doors are notorious for staying open when they should be closed.

Sometimes you will close a bifold door only to have it pop open as soon as it is completely shut.

Although there are not a ton of solutions for keeping bifold doors closed, here are a few simple ways that should help to make your life easier.

 

How to Keep Bifold Doors Closed

 

1. Adjust the Door

 

We know you were probably hoping this wasn’t the case, but one of the best ways to keep bifold doors closed is to adjust the door.

Bifold doors can be very difficult to adjust.

There are brackets on both the bottom and the top of the door, and in order for the door to close and stay closed properly, the brackets need to be in place.

If this has been a problem since you first hung the doors, there is a chance that they were not hung properly in the first place.

You may need to take the bifold doors down, make sure the brackets are installed properly, and then hang them back up.

When you are hanging the doors back up, you will likely have to make sure that the top and bottom are adjusted the way they should be.

For instance, if the tops of the doors are too far from the door jamb, they may be hitting each other.

When they hit each other, it will cause the door to pop open after you let go of the handles.

This process can take quite a bit of trial and error to get exactly right.

We have often found the best success with taking both doors off, then hanging one at a time, and trying to get it to work.

Make sure that at least one door will close and stay closed before trying to get the other one in place.

 

2. Use Springs

 

There are springs on the bottom of the bifold door which will help you keep the door closed.

If you have installed the doors yourself, you will see these with the installation kit that should have been included when you purchased your doors.

The springs are going to help make sure the doors have the pressure needed to stay closed.

If these springs are not installed properly, they are going to sometimes cause the door to pop back open.

If you are new to the world of bifold doors, you will find that there are quite a few things about these doors which can be adjusted.

Hopefully, your brackets are installed correctly, and you won’t have to go as far back as to reinstall the brackets so they are level on the door.

The springs are just another part of bifold doors which will take some time and patience to get adjusted properly.

 

3. Strap Latch

A strap latch can be a great choice for a product that keeps a bifold door closed.

You will put one part of the latch on one door and the other part of the latch on the other door.

If all the door needs is a bit of extra pressure to stay closed, these strap latches can do the trick.

The only issue with these is that you will have to open them every time you need to go into the cabinet or closet.

For something like a linen closet which you may only need to access once or twice a week, the strap latch is a good choice.

If, however, you want a latch for the pantry that you are reaching into and out of all day, every day, the strap latch could become a bit annoying.

These strap latches are intended to keep unwanted visitors out of your closets and cabinets, but they can also do a great job of keeping the bifold doors closed.

 

4. Bifold Door Lock

In addition to the strap latches that we mentioned, you can also use a bifold door lock.

The great thing about the bifold door locks is that they are specifically built to work with a bifold door.

You won’t have to worry about getting this to match up, as they are designed to keep the bifold doors square and locked.

With the bifold door locks, you will install it by slipping it directly over the top of one door.

When you need to lock the doors closed, you can simply slide the lock over, so it closes both doors.

The slide to open and close the bifold door is very easy to use, and it keeps the doors flush and together.

Although this solution is easier than having to take the doors down and mess with the way they are hung up, there are some important things to note.

This bifold door lock will not fit or function properly if you don’t have your doors hung correctly.

The doors have to be flush, and the plastic clip needs to be able to neatly fit over the two doors.

Although you will be using this solution to keep the doors from popping open, it’s also a great choice if you are trying to keep any small children from entering a closet.

The best bifold door locks are also clear so that they will not stand out when you are looking at the doors.

This helps with the general aesthetics of your home.

 

5. Cabinet Locks

Last but certainly not least is cabinet locks.

You may have to get a bit more creative with these locks than with some of the other choices, but they can do the trick.

The only thing that would really prevent one of these cabinet locks from doing its job is if the space between your bifold doors is quite large.

If you have a normal amount of space between the doors, you can easily slide one of these locks into place and close the door.

The cabinet locks we recommend are those which have a sticky adhesive on the back.

These will attach to the door within seconds and won’t cause any damage to the door.

You can have this issue fixed for just a few dollars and move onto another project in the house.

 

Why Won’t Bifold Doors Close?

 

If none of these methods works to fix your bifold door closing problem, you may need to consider why your doors won’t close.

The reason behind the door not closing may require a quick and simple fix, or it may be a bit more time consuming to repair.

Here are some common reasons bifold doors don’t close properly.

 

1. Bracket at the Top Is Not Adjusted Properly

As we mentioned, one of the best ways to fix your bifold door issue is to take them off and then put them back up.

When you do this, you should be able to find the underlying cause of some of the problems that have come up with the door.

For the most part, you will notice the adjustable bracket on the top is not lined up correctly.

Sometimes it takes loosening or tightening this just a bit to get the door to close properly.

One interesting fact to remember is that some people have trouble getting their bifold doors to stay open.

When the door is opened, it is almost programmed to be closed again and pushed out the square position.

This can get very annoying when you are looking for something in a closet, and the door keeps closing on you.

Check the adjustments at the top because, chances are, the door is just not set properly.

 

2. Stuck on Carpet

Bifold doors also tend to get stuck on the carpet.

Sometimes it is hard to see exactly where on the carpet they are stuck, but there are ways you can fix this.

You will have to take your door down and trim the bottom so that the door can move smoothly and not get hooked on the carpet in any way.

Overall, this problem can be quite common in the bedroom with lots of bedrooms having a carpet as the flooring material and bifold doors on the closets.

If you have a saw, tape measure, and a pencil, you can easily trim a bifold door up.

 

What to Do With a Bifold Door that Squeaks

 

If your problem is not getting the door open or closed but simply the noise it tends to make while completing that process, you may want to think about quieting your bifold doors down.

There are lots of hinges on bifold doors, and because of that, there are many places where the metal parts can rub against each other.

These areas will then make kind of a screeching noise.

It is common for this to happen, especially in older doors.

If you have looked at the door carefully and you don’t see any potential mechanical issues where the parts are rubbing on each other the wrong way, it could be a time for some WD40.

WD40 is a lubricant which can be sprayed directly on the hinge of the door to help eliminate some of the squeaking.

The only issue with WD40 is that you must be careful where you are spraying it.

If your bifold door is hung over a carpet, make sure you take steps to protect that carpeting before you spray.

If any of the WD40 drips down onto the carpet, it is going to stain.

You also need to be sure that the WD40 does not get sprayed on the door itself.

Again, if you have a painted door, the WD40 will likely leave a mark and leave you with an even bigger project on your hands.

Try to be mindful when using this product, but it should help you eliminate any squeaking noises coming from your bifold doors.

 

Conclusion

Hopefully, you now have some useful solutions for keeping bifold doors closed.

Although these doors can be a bit tricky to deal with, most homes have them somewhere.

The truth is they are just very practical when it comes to saving space.

You won’t have to worry about having enough room for a door to swing open, and you will have very full access to your entire closet with both doors open.

Be very careful when you are hanging bifold doors and be sure to spend the necessary time to get them aligned properly.

If you do this, you shouldn’t have a problem keeping your bifold doors closed.