soft-close drawer, problem or works as designed

17 years ago

I have one soft close drawer in my kitchen. Its the silverware drawer and is two tiered. We bought the soft close so it would not slam with the weight. At least, that's what the salesman said.

Anyway, since new, the drawer, if not pushed in to the soft-close, will roll open. I constantly do not push it hard enough and every time I turn around, its open again, and it REALLY annoys me. My wife thinks it works as it should and I am just not closing it properly.

I called the builder, and he said the counters are level and the glides are not adjustable so its a "feature". But really, shouldn't the drawer be biased to close instead of open?

Are these glides truly not adjustable?

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Comments (6)

clinresga
17 years ago
We had a similar but slightly different problem: we had cheap "generic" soft close slides put into our bathroom when we remodeled. They do not soft close unless you shove them hard enough to slide past a sort of detent about 1/2 inch from fully closed. If you don't push hard enough, they stop there and then you have to push them hard to get past that point.

When we did the kitchen we made sure to get true Blum Blumotion slides and cabinet hinges. They are fabulous. A gentle push and once they hit the "blumotion" point of their travel, they finish closing automatically. There is absolutely no resistance to closing and zero "bounceback."

I suspect you too have some cheap knockoff model. For the cost of a single set of slides, I'd make him replace them with Blumotion slides. There is absolutely no comparison.
canuck99
17 years ago
We have soft close and if not closed enogh to engage the drawer just sits in one the position.
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jamesbodell
Original Author
17 years ago
I am starting to take a look, and I have Blum blumotion. When closed, the rails are biased to open, when fully open they are way biased to open, so looks like I need an adjustment. I am searching for install directions now. The back support fits into prefab holes, so I may have to try and fix them at the drawer front support.
jamesbodell
Original Author
17 years ago
I never really noticed before, but ALL the drawers in the kitchen will fully open if left slightly ajar.
oruboris
17 years ago
How long have you had this drawer? Because it does take a while to get used to it.

If all your drawers are soft close, you get in the habit of giving them a big ol' shove, secure that they won't ever slam. I think I'd have a hard time with only a couple soft closers. I wouldn't remember which was which without stopping to think about it, and that would make it far more of a burden than a convenience.

On many Blum slides, the soft closer can be easily removed. It's possible your drawer has one on each time [most come from the factory that way], and removing one would allow it to close without so much force on your part. The gang at Ikea fans advise using a single soft closer on the smallest upper drawer or any with only very lightweight contents.

And if your slides are of that type, you can add soft close to your other drawers for only a couple bucks and couple minutes each.
Buehl
17 years ago
To answer your question, I think you have a problem. Like Canuck99, if we don't give our drawers a hard enough shove to activate the soft-close, the drawers stay where they are; they do not drift open again. It sounds like yours may not have been installed correctly.

I'd take out the drawers and, using a level, see if the glides were installed on the level instead of a slight incline toward the opening. I think this would tell you that...not an expert, but it makes logical sense.

HTH!