Found a trick for fixing squeaky floors from a 1980s DIY book my dad had

My upstairs hallway floor squeaked like crazy every time my dog walked across it, so I tried the classic trick of sprinkling baby powder into the gaps between the boards. After a few days and a vacuum, the squeaking stopped completely and hasn't come back in six months. Has anyone else tried something like that or is there a better way to keep it quiet long term?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_park3mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that reminds me of my buddy Chris. His entire kitchen floor sounded like a horror movie soundtrack when his cat walked across it at 3am. He tried the baby powder trick and it worked great for about a month. Then the squeaks came back way worse. He ended up pulling up a floorboard and found the subfloor had warped from an old leak. Had to replace a whole section. Yours might hold up longer since it's just settling noise. Just a heads up if it comes back stronger later.

king.andrew3mo agoMost Upvoted

Whoa wait, @kai_park are you telling me the baby powder trick actually made it worse? I figured it would just wear off eventually but I didn't think it would come back stronger. That's wild. I guess if it's just settling noise I should be alright but now I'm kind of paranoid about what might be hiding under there. Definitely gonna keep an eye on it.

gavinw451mo ago

Baby powder just masks the symptom, it doesn't fix the root cause. I've seen guys dump powder all over a floor only to have the wood swell and tighten up even more, making the squeaks louder down the road. If it's just a seasonal change in the wood, a little wax or a dry lubricant might work better because it doesn't swell the boards. But if that subfloor has any moisture damage, no powder in the world is going to save you from having to pull some boards up.