How many times have your visits to the kitchen turned a bit chaotic because the drawers won’t shut unless you slam them shut? Not to mention the number of times we have all tried to be creative by using the hip-bump technique to shut the drawer, only for it to either get stuck midway or make a louder thud. If you understand what we are trying to explain, you may be one of those people who haven’t thought of installing soft close drawer slides.
For those who are unaware, soft close drawer slides are an additional feature that is readily available in modern drawers. These slides make sure that your drawers close silently and smoothly. A lot of people live with the old noisy drawers since they think features like soft close drawer slides are only possible if you change the entire unit. Well, you are wrong. You can also install them on your pre-existing drawers. In this article, we are first going to discuss the benefits of these soft close drawer slides and then tell you how to install them.
Benefits of soft close drawer slides
- No more slamming drawers
Regardless of whether you do it or someone else does, the loud thud that accompanies slamming the drawers is probably one of the most annoying things ever. But when you use drawers with soft close slides, you no longer have to worry about the slamming drawers since the mechanism prevents it entirely. Imagine your relief as a parent when you no longer have to tell your kids to quit slamming the drawers.
- The contents of the drawer stay in place
When you have to slam the drawer shut, most of us often hear the sound of the content moving inside the drawer. This can cause all the effort of organization to go to waste and make it difficult to look for the things you need the next time you open the very same drawers. The mechanism of soft close drawer slides is so gentle that your content stays in place regardless of how many times you open and shut the drawer.
- No more pinched fingers
How many times have you shut the drawer hard out of frustration only to realize too late that your finger is in the middle? These accidents can seem minor at first but can also prove horrific at times. When you opt for soft close drawer slides, you can rest assured that you will no longer have to worry about pinched fingers in the future.
Let us now move on to the installation of these slides. Mentioned below are the pieces of equipment you will need for the installation.
- Soft close drawer slides
- Mounting plates
- Drill
- Screwdriver
- Tape measure
- Level
Steps for installation
- Empty the contents of the drawer and remove the drawer from the cabinet. Unscrew the old glide hardware from the drawer and the cabinet.
- Take proper measurements and install the slides on both sides of the drawer
- Install the soft close drawer slides on the cabinet as well.
- Make needed adjustments and fix the drawer in the cabinet and continue using it.
This is how you install the cabinet. The steps involved may seem easy to read and accomplish. But you need to be extremely precise with respect to the measurements and the placement of the soft close drawer slides. One small mistake and the drawer won’t fit right. To avoid this problem entirely, we recommend opting for professionals to do the task for you. They are experts in the field and they know what they are doing. We hope that by listing a few of the benefits of opting for soft close drawer slides, we have managed to convince you to make the shift. If yes, we recommend getting in touch with representatives at Blum. They will help you figure out the right choice of fittings for your home.