Is it possible to lubricate hinges and locks with sunflower oil, and why?

Door hinges require regular maintenance. If there is no special product at hand, is it possible to lubricate the creaking hinges of a metal, car or furniture entrance door with sunflower oil? It's possible, but there are quite a few arguments against it.

The better to lubricate

The ideal remedy for preventing and eliminating squeaking is a graphite or silicone spray lubricant that gains thickness after application. Not so good, but mineral oils (vaseline, castor) are quite suitable, but it is better to take them thickened. Third place in terms of efficiency is car oil and sewing machine oil. All these products evaporate slowly, have good viscosity, adhesion and penetration, and are resistant to abrasion.

Advantages of sunflower oil as a lubricant

Why do many people decide to replace special products with sunflower oil? First of all, it is always in the house. This is a product that is incredibly widely used in Russian homes. Secondly, it is cheap and is bought in bottles, not small oil cans.

The third advantage is that it is liquid. It can be easily inserted into a syringe and directed into a loop, lock or other mechanism.

And fourth, sunflower oil has a pleasant aroma, and fifth, stray drops from hands and clothes can be easily washed off.

Disadvantages and side effects

The main disadvantage of vegetable oil is coking. As a result, the mass thickens, becomes sticky, picks up dirt and sticks to parts.If you constantly lubricate the mechanism with sunflower oil, it will eventually stick together, and it will be extremely difficult to correct the situation. Removing the coked layer in order to clean the parts and apply good lubricant is problematic.

For the same reason, it is not recommended to use this material for external locks: external locks, including car doors and gates, and for windows. Street dirt will quickly fill all lubricated mechanisms.

Another important disadvantage is low viscosity. Such grease quickly drains from vertical parts, and the creaking resumes, and dirty streaks appear on the hinges and doors. In the lock, such grease spreads and clogs the mechanisms, which cannot be cleaned later without completely disassembling the lock. For this reason, sunflower seed oil is absolutely not suitable for padlocks and cylinder locks, including those on cars.

The third and indisputable disadvantage of vegetable pomace is its instability to temperature changes, heat, frost and other unfavorable factors.

Advice
To lubricate plastic windows, use products designed specifically for these structures. The compositions must be especially wear-resistant, gentle on plastic and rubber, withstand the vagaries of the weather and not run off, otherwise you will have to wash the plastic profile for a long time and persistently, and it will not withstand any grease solvent.

When can you use sunflower oil?

As experts note, plant extract, especially refined ones, can temporarily replace real lubricant. This is done when the hinges on the doors suddenly creak or you need to develop a lock.A small amount of oil is dripped onto the hinge axis or lock bolt and soon replaced with graphite or silicone grease, mineral oil or grease.

Important
Very often, the cause of the squeak is not the hinge mechanism, but the misalignment of the door leaf; it sags or becomes deformed, warped. As a result, the loop runs crookedly along the axis. This provokes creaking, and what’s even worse, increases the load on the mechanism, and it begins to wear out.

How to properly lubricate hinges

The magazine purity-en.htgetrid.com strongly recommends using special products for lubrication, and from home materials only graphite powder and castor or vaseline oil.

Detachable door hinges:

1. Lift the door leaf using a hammer or similar object.
2. Pour graphite powder into the crack, apply thick lubricant, spray with spray lubricant or drop with mineral oil.
3. Remove the support and rock the door on its hinges so that the product spreads along the axis.

By car:

1. Open the door all the way.
2. Clean visible parts of the mechanism from accumulated dirt and old grease.
3. Apply a special lubricant or an analogue marked “grease”. The product must be distributed to all parts that experience friction.
4. Remove excess with a rag or napkin.
5. Open and close the door several times to distribute the lubricant throughout the mechanism.

Important
You should not use too much lubricant - the excess will come out, leaving drips, stains, and dirtying the car interior.

Mortise and overhead butterfly hinges on doors, furniture and caskets:

1. Open the door/lift the lid.
2. Spray lubricant spray with a fine nozzle.
3. Open and close the door/lid several times.
4. Remove excess.

Advice
If you don’t have a spray and don’t have the desire to go get it, you can use folk remedies: blow out or hammer in crushed pencil lead with a brush, or rub the loops with a rag soaked in castor oil. Excess should also be removed with a napkin.

Furniture hidden hinges:

1. Unfold the mechanism.
2. Spray or drop medium viscosity mineral oil onto moving parts.
3. Open and close the door several times.

Important
Most often, the reason for squeaking furniture doors is not the lubricant, but the fact that the hinges are worn out. Masters advise swapping the lower and upper loops as a temporary measure. Additionally, adjust with the middle screw. But at the first opportunity it is worth replacing the mechanisms with new ones.

Sunflower oil is far from the best alternative to specialized lubricant. It cokes, picks up dirt, and quickly drains, leaving a sticky layer that is insufficient for protection. However, it will cope with the task quite well for a short time and will protect against squeaking before guests visit or for a couple of days until the opportunity opens up to purchase a modern and effective lubricant.