I like to buy vintage furniture for my home whenever possible. Not only can this often be a money-saving strategy, but it’s also a great way to pick up really high-quality pieces of wood that you can be sure will last – after all, they’ve made it this far! Plus, vintage furniture often has a lot of built-in charm that just makes me happy when I look at it in my home. (Really the best reason to buy, if I’m honest.)
But vintage furniture can sometimes show its age with nicks, dents and wobbles. One of the more boring pieces of vintage furniture? Sticky drawers. Fortunately, there is a simple solution and you already have it at hand: You can use a candle to help your drawers slide more easily.
Here’s how it works: Vintage furniture from the 1950s and earlier will usually have drawers set into wooden runners rather than the metal often used in modern furniture. Over time, the wooden rail at the bottom of the drawers and the wooden rail that holds that rail can become slightly rough, causing friction that can lead to sticking. You might not notice it at first, but once you start lifting up a lot every time you close a dresser drawer, it can get pretty annoying. That’s where candle wax comes in.
This project only takes a few minutes. First, pull out the offending (and offending) drawer and dump the contents. When it’s upside down, rub a paraffin or beeswax candle on the slide at the bottom of the drawer and the track inside the dresser. Then put the drawer back in place. That’s it!
This is a trick I picked up from my editing days This old house magazine, where experienced contractor Tom Silva advised using wax to lubricate antique window sashes. It works just as well on drawers that use the same wood-on-wood sliding mechanism and has been my favorite ever since.
If you don’t have a candle handy, soap can be effective for adding a little slip to those wooden surfaces. When the drawer starts to stick again, just pop it out and repeat this process. It will only take a few minutes, and you’ll be immediately rewarded with smoother drawers.