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Nothing kills the mood like a squeaky bed. Think of all the times in your life a persistent squeaking or creaking got in the way of a perfect moment: Jumping on the mattress with your entire extended family for an influencer photoshoot. Jumping out of the bed you share with three other grandparents because your grandson’s chocolate bar had a winning golden ticket. Jumping onto a comforter covered in all the cash you acquired after pulling off one last heist.
Here’s our guide to silence your squeaky bed once and for all, so you never again have to worry about the perfect moment being tarnished by a persistent creaking sound.
Find the source
The first step to eliminating that squeaking sound is to identify what’s causing the issue. Start by pushing down and adding pressure to different areas of your bed until you determine the general area causing the noise. There are three main sources of a squeaky bed:
1) Box spring. This is most likely the culprit. Since the cause of the squeak is likely the wooden frame, there are plenty of quick at-home fixes for a box spring issue.
2) Bed frame. Loose bolts or warped wood can lead to a squeak, but they’re also easily fixed with at-home solutions.
3) Spring mattress. According to Casper, the innerspring is a common cause for the squeak. Unfortunately, this means it might be time for a new mattress entirely.
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Solutions to silence the squeak
Once you’ve deduced the source of the squeak, here’s how to go about fixing the issue, so you can get back to jumping on your bed in perfect silence.
Tighten any loose screws. Grab a wrench or screwdriver and tighten all the bolts along your bed frame’s joints.
Lubricate with WD-40. It’s the standard solution to any creaking sound in your life. Apply some WD-40 around your box spring and to the joints of your bed frame, or anywhere with wood-on-wood or metal-on-metal contact. Seriously: When in doubt, use WD-40.
Ease friction with added cushioning. If tightening loose bolts and WD-40 don’t resolve the squeak, then you might need create some sort of noise-canceling cushion. Take some socks, an old shirt, or washcloths and stuff them between sources of friction surrounding your bed. Add padding between the slats and the frame, the box spring and your mattress, or the legs and your floor (especially if you have an uneven floor).
If all else fails, it’s time to replace your mattress
Hopefully these at-home solutions will be enough to silence the squeak, but there’s a chance the issue is coming from inside the mattress. Here’s our guide to identifying when it’s time to invest in a better mattress.
Otherwise, the secret to a quiet bed usually comes down to eliminating sources of friction. Just like the secret to a happy relationship, right? Right.
