Why Is My Drawer Hard to Open? Six Causes, in the Order to Check Them

A drawer that has started to stick is almost never a broken drawer. It is usually a carcass that is no longer square, and a carcass goes out of square for reasons that have nothing to do with the furniture: an uneven floor, a shifted foot, or a wet summer.

Which is why the first thing to check is not the runner. It is whether the piece is standing level.

Is the Piece Level?

Check this first, every time. A chest of drawers is a box, and a box standing on four feet where one foot is 3mm low will twist. That twist goes straight into the runners, and the drawer binds.

Put a spirit level on the top, front to back and side to side. If it is out, shim the low foot with a thin piece of packer or a folded business card and check again. On timber floorboards, the low point is usually where a board has cupped, and it moves seasonally.

Most sticking drawers in older houses are this and nothing else. It takes two minutes and it costs nothing.

Is It Only Sticking in Summer?

Then it is moisture, and the drawer is telling you the timber is doing exactly what timber does. Wood takes on moisture from humid air and swells across the grain, so a drawer that ran freely in a dry August can bind in a humid February.

The fix is the room rather than the drawer. Aim for 40 to 55 per cent relative humidity, keep the piece away from an open window on a wet day, and do not sand anything. A drawer sanded to fit in February will be loose and rattling by August.

The same movement causes the fine cracks people worry about, and we went through the whole mechanism in why is my wood furniture cracking.

London Pine 6 Drawer Chest

Is Something Caught Behind It?

Pull the drawer all the way out and look into the cavity. A sock, a belt buckle or a paperback that has gone over the back of a drawer sits between the drawer back and the carcass, and it feels exactly like a mechanical fault.

This is far more common than people expect, and it is the reason a drawer that was fine on Monday is stiff on Tuesday. If a drawer changed suddenly rather than gradually, check here before anywhere else.

While the drawer is out, run a dry cloth along the runner track. Dust and fibre build up on a metal runner and turn a smooth glide into a drag.

Have the Runner Screws Worked Loose?

Metal runners are screwed to the carcass side and to the drawer side, and those screws loosen over years of use. A runner that has dropped 1mm at the back is enough to make a drawer bind at half travel.

With the drawer out, look along the runner. It should be dead straight and parallel to the one on the other side. Tighten every screw you can see, firmly and no further, because over tightening into timber strips the hole and makes it worse.

If a screw spins without biting, the hole is stripped. Push a matchstick or a sliver of timber into the hole with a drop of wood glue, let it set, and drive the screw again.

Manchester Pine 5 Drawer Tallboy

Is the Drawer Overloaded?

Weight is the cause people dismiss and it is a real one. A chest drawer here holds a lot: interiors run 59cm to 63.1cm wide, 36.9cm to 38.3cm deep, and up to 24.6cm tall on the Liverpool. Fill that with folded denim and you have a heavy drawer on a runner rated for clothing.

Two rules. Keep the heaviest items in the bottom drawers, which also lowers the centre of gravity of the whole piece. And leave the top quarter of each drawer empty, because a drawer packed to the rails drags on the frame above it every time it closes.

If the drawers are full because there is nowhere else to put things, the layout is the problem rather than the drawer. There is a method for that in how to organise drawers.

Is the Drawer Front Rubbing the One Below?

Look at the gaps around the drawer front when it is closed. They should be even, roughly 2mm to 3mm all round. If the gap is tight at the bottom and wide at the top, the drawer is sitting low, which is either a runner that has dropped or a carcass out of square.

You can usually confirm which by opening the drawer above and below. If all of them are tight on the same side, it is the carcass, so go back to the level check. If it is one drawer only, it is that drawer's runner.

What Should I Not Do?

Do not sand the drawer. On a metal runner it does nothing, and on any drawer it is permanent. Timber that is swollen in February will be back to size in August and you cannot unsand it.

Do not spray oil into the runner. Oil attracts dust and turns into a paste that runs worse than dry metal. If a metal runner genuinely needs lubrication, use a dry silicone or a light spray wiped almost dry, and clean the track first.

Do not force it. A drawer forced past a bind tears the runner out of the screw holes, and that is a repair rather than an adjustment.

Liverpool Pine 6 Drawer Chest - Black

Frequently Asked Questions

Why has my drawer suddenly become hard to open?

A sudden change is usually something caught behind the drawer or a screw that has worked loose. Pull the drawer right out and look into the cavity first. A gradual change over months is more likely to be the piece sitting out of level, or seasonal humidity.

How do I fix a sticking drawer?

Check the piece is level first and shim the low foot if it is not, because a twisted carcass binds every drawer in it. Then look for an obstruction behind the drawer, clean the runner track, and tighten the runner screws. Sanding should be the last thing you consider, not the first.

Why do drawers stick in summer?

Timber takes on moisture from humid air and swells across the grain, so a drawer that ran freely in a dry winter can bind in a humid summer. Aim for 40 to 55 per cent indoor humidity and wait it out rather than sanding, or the drawer will rattle when the air dries again.

Should I lubricate drawer runners?

Only if they are genuinely dry, and never with oil. Oil collects dust and turns into a paste that runs worse than clean metal. Clean the track with a dry cloth first, and use a dry silicone spray wiped almost dry if anything is needed at all.

Can a drawer be too full?

Yes. A chest drawer here can be up to 63cm wide and 24.6cm deep inside, which holds a lot of weight when filled with denim or knitwear. Keep the heaviest items in the bottom drawers and leave the top quarter of each drawer empty so nothing drags on the frame above.