Most Common Door Handle Problems: What Our Customer Questions Reveal

After years of handling customer enquiries, we have found that a handful of concerns come up again and again once a door handle has been in everyday use for a while. Most sound more worrying than they really are, and in many cases there is a simple explanation or a straightforward fix.

“It feels stiff when I turn it”

A brand new mechanism can feel slightly firmer at first, particularly during its first week or two of regular use. If the stiffness persists, a light application of a dry lubricant such as PTFE spray to the spindle and latch will usually help; we generally recommend this in preference to oil, which can attract dust and grime over time.

“It makes a squeaking or clicking noise”

A squeak or click almost always originates around the latch mechanism or the pivot point inside the backplate rather than indicating a fault with the handle itself. Applying a small amount of dry lubricant to the latch bolt, then closing the door and operating the handle several times, will typically clear the noise within a few operations.

“The screws in the box don’t seem to fit my door”

Handles are normally supplied with a standard set of fixings designed around the most common door thicknesses, so they cannot account for every door already in use. An unusually thick or thin door, or an existing non-standard fixing pattern, may simply require slightly longer or shorter screws sourced separately and does not necessarily indicate anything wrong with the handle.

“It doesn’t look quite like the photo”

Finishes such as satin nickel, satin chrome and brushed brass can look subtly different depending on room lighting, reflections and the calibration of the screen on which the product is viewed. When choosing door handles, checking photographs taken in natural light or ordering a small finish sample where one is available can give a much better sense of the true tone before committing to a full set.

“I can’t work out how to get the old handle off”

Most lever handles are secured by a small grub screw underneath the lever itself, which normally needs to be loosened rather than removed completely before the lever will slide away from the spindle. Forcing the lever before checking for this screw is one of the most common reasons removal becomes difficult, so it is worth looking closely underneath before replacing a set or browsing all door handles for a new style.