What Causes Black Dust From Door Hinges

Kim from missouri asks we put up new hinges and over a period of time there is this black dust like stuff on the doors where the hinges are.

What causes black dust from door hinges. Dust caused by hinges is common with residential duty hinges and is caused by the pieces of metal rubbing against each other. This is a pesky problem usually seen on and around the most frequently used and heaviest doors in the house. An aromatic candle in a jar is the only candle in this northern virginia home. Last year i removed all the doors cleaned the pins and hinges and everything was ok for a few months but it started again.

After a little researching i believe this powder is a graphite powder lubricant to help the hinges operate smoothly. Do you have a solution for that black residue around door hinges. From what i hear a little lubrication with lithium grease can help though i don t think it will eliminate the problem. Air passes underneath the closed door causing the carpet to act as a filter for particles.

Wd40 doesn t really work either though it will help the door open smoothly. Some folks swear by it as a lubricant for those hinges but we don t like it because of the end result. We built our house almost 5 years ago and in that time a film of black powder has built up on the door wall and baseboards around all the door hinges in the house. All of my interior door hinges have fine black dust coming out of them.

Over a period of time the carpeting will pick up enough airborne particles to cause the discoloration. Another benefit of ball bearing door hinges is that you don t get that black graphite dust all over your door casings that you generally get on standard duty door hinges. That black sooty stuff that seems to come out of the door hinges is graphite. Note the black soot coating the top half of the jar.