* How to Fix a Shower Door That Won’t Close

So you just built a new shower and now you realize that there seems to be a bunch of water on the floor outside of the door, and the reason for it is because the door doesn’t seem to be closing properly. This might sound like a relatively minor issue, but if you think about it, all of that water can cause some serious damage to your floors, so it is actually a fairly serious issue.

What we’re here to do today is to figure out exactly why your shower door won’t close, and to provide you with all the possible solutions to fix it.

Do You Need to Replace Your Shower Door If It Doesn’t Close?

Now, if your shower door isn’t closing properly, you might be thinking of getting a replacement because after all, if you’re getting water on your floor, you need to do something about it. However, what most people don’t realize is that a shower door not closing is generally caused by a variety of extremely simple problems that have very simple solutions.

The bottom line here is that in the vast majority of cases if your shower door is not closing properly, you can fix it on your own.

Sliding Shower Door

6 Common Reasons Why Your Shower Door Won’t Close

Right now we want to talk about all of the different reasons as to why your shower door might not be closing properly. Do keep in mind that there are of course swinging shower doors that are on hinges, as well as sliding doors that are on rollers, so we will cover both.

3 Reasons Why Your Hinged Shower Door Won’t Close

First off, let’s figure out why a shower door that is on hinges might not be closing properly. This is of course a very common type of shower door that many homes have.

1. Misaligned Frame

One of the most common causes as to why a hinged shower door might not close is due to it being out of alignment with the door frame. Generally speaking, this is caused by the screws holding the frame in place not being tight enough, thus allowing the frame to move. Moreover, the frame may not be properly installed on the wall. If the frame and the door do not align with each other, then the door cannot close properly.

2. Old Adhesive

Some shower doors do have a magnetic closure, in which case this really should not be a problem because magnets don’t really break down. However, some shower doors are held shut with a certain type of adhesive, and this adhesive can wear down over time, thus causing the door to open up. Of course, if the problem is old adhesive, then the only real solution is to replace that adhesive.

3. Debris

The other common issue that might prevent your hinged shower door from closing properly is quite simply that there is a bunch of dirt and debris present. This dirt and debris could be present on the hinges or it could be present anywhere on the doorframe. If the debris is large enough, it will prevent the door from closing.

3 Reasons Why Your Sliding Shower Door Won’t Close

Now that we have figured out why your hinged shower door is not closing, let’s figure out why your sliding shower door is not closing.

1. Debris

Just like with a hinged shower door, one of the most common causes that prevent sliding shower doors from closing all the way is if there is any debris present. Debris could be present anywhere along the track or on the rollers themselves, and of course if the debris is large enough it will not allow the door to move or shut properly. More often than not, a bunch of debris is the main cause of this problem.

2. Broken Rollers

If you find that not only is your shower door not closing properly, but you can barely move the door, then the most likely cause of this problem is that one or multiple rollers are broken.

3. Misaligned Rollers

The other common issue that might be preventing your sliding shower door from closing is if the rollers are not positioned properly or if the rollers are not properly aligned with the door itself.

Hinged Shower Door

How to Fix A Hinged Shower Door That Won’t Close

Here we are going to provide you with all of the different solutions in terms of fixing that shower door that won’t close based on the various problems that we discussed above:

  1. The first thing that you should do is to use a wet cloth, a brush, or a sponge to clean off any debris that may be present on the doorframe or on the door itself. As we mentioned, debris is one of the biggest issues that affect both types of shower doors. You may need to use some professional cleaning products if the debris is stuck on.
  2. If you have a hinged shower door that closes via adhesive, then you need to check to see if the adhesive is still good. If the adhesive is not still good, you will have to remove the old adhesive and add a new shower door adhesive. This may be something that might require professional assistance.
  3. Seeing as a hinged shower door might not close properly due to the fact that the door is misaligned with the frame itself, the next solution here is to make sure that the screws holding the frame into the wall are very tight. You need those screws to be tight.
  4. If that still does not work, then you may need to reinstall the shower door frame as a whole.

How to Fix A Sliding Shower Door That Won’t Close

If you have a sliding shower door that won’t close, then refer to the list below for the various possible solutions:

  1. Just as is the case with the hinged shower door, Your sliding shower door might not close due to debris being in the way, so the first thing that you should do is to take the door out of the frame and clean everything. Clean the track, clean the rollers, and clean the door itself. Once again, you may need professional cleaning products.
  2. At this point, you also want to check to see if any of the rollers are broken. If the rollers are broken, you will need to replace them.
  3. The final step here is to put the door back and make sure that the door is on the track and aligned with all of the rollers.

Mistakes to Avoid, Tips & Tricks

Lastly, here are some tips you will want to keep in mind when working on this issue:

  • If you have a sliding shower door and you can’t seem to manage to align the door with the rollers, then you might want to call a professional for help. Sliding shower doors can be a bit fragile, and if you pull on them too much you might actually break something.
  • The bottom line here is that if you don’t know what the problem is, don’t go pulling and pushing on stuff you are better off calling for professional help than breaking something.
  • If by chance it is the adhesive on your image shower door that has gone bad, you do want to do a lot of research in terms of what type of adhesive you need to purchase.
  • How to Fix a Shower Door That Won't Close

Summary

Now that you know exactly why your shower door is not closing and what all of the possible causes of this issue are, you can now work to remedy the situation by applying one or a series of the solutions that we have described above.