Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. How we test gear.

Whether your cabinets and drawers are difficult to open or won't stay closed, you can fix them with a little attention.

Kitchen cabinets take a lot of daily use and abuse. Over time, they develop a range of problems, from doors not closing correctly to drawers that won't open. Here's how to fix them.

Most cabinet doors now use European hinges that are hidden inside the cabinets to provide a clean, sleek look. They also make adjusting the doors simple. All it takes is turning a specific screw or two to raise or lower the door so it'll be flush with adjacent doors, to move the door closer or further away from the cabinet face frame, or to make doors horizontally and vertically level.

As long as the drawer and the roller slides are not damaged, the fix is straightforward. Remove the drawer from the cabinet, then wipe the rollers and slides with a clean cloth to remove any debris or buildup. Make sure all of the screws on the slides are tight. Then apply a dry lubricant to the slides and wipe off any excess. The dry lubricant leaves a dry film instead of an oily residue that collects dust. Reinsert the drawer, then open and close it several times to spread out the lubricant.

This is a common problem for silverware drawers, or others that have to carry a lot of weight. Over time, the drawer slides wear out. If you have wimpy slides with plastic rollers, replace them with heavy-duty models that use ball bearings. They offer a much smoother gliding motion and support more weight. Prices start at $10 for a pair rated at 75 lb. Before you shop for slides, determine if you need side-mount, center-mount or under-mount versions. You'll also need to know the size of the drawer.

Because they're subjected to constant pushing, pulling, and grabbing, handles and knobs frequently come loose. The obvious fix—tightening the screws—is good short-term solution. But eventually they'll twist loose again. A permanent fix is to use a thread adhesive such as Loctite 242 that will keep the knobs or handles tight, but still let you remove them later if necessary.

Regardless of the hinge type you have—European, surface-mounted, semi-concealed or something else—they can come loose over time, causing your doors to sag or fail. One direct cause of this could be that your screw holes for the hinges are stripped. If so, you'll have to fill the holes before you can tighten the screws and get everything back where you want it. Start by removing the hinge. Then fill the hole with toothpicks dipped in glue. Once the glue is dry, cut off the toothpicks flush with the cabinet and re-install the hinges.

With all the cooking and frying that goes on in the kitchen, grease gets splattered onto cabinets and steam leaves a film on wooden surfaces. As a result, cabinets end up feeling grimy and losing their luster.

Happily, the same method for cleaning greasy dishes also cleans cabinets. Mix a couple tablespoons of a grease-cutting dishwashing detergent, like Dawn, in a bowl of warm water. Dip a sponge or white cloth into the mixture and scrub the wood surface clean. For stubborn stains, mix baking soda or borax with water and wipe it onto the problem area. Avoid using scouring pads since they can scratch the wood. Finally, rinse the cabinets with clean water and then wipe them dry with a clean cloth. To restore the wood's shine, apply a wood cleaner or polish.

The jarring sound of a cabinet door slamming shut is bad enough, but this problem can also be a gateway to others: When doors repeatedly slam against the cabinet face, the force and vibrations can cause hinges to come loose and doors to get knocked out of whack.

Soft-close hardware is available for doors and drawers that replaces the current hinges or drawer sides, allowing for soft, quiet closings. You can also buy soft close adapters, starting at $2.15 each online, that attach to the inside of the cabinet face frame. Right before the door closes, it engages the adaptor, which keeps the door from slamming shut. For a cheap solution, buy self-adhesive bumpers that cost $2.30 for a 16-pack at home centers. Stick them on an inside corner of a door to keep wood from smacking against bare wood.

Sometimes you end up with a stubborn door that just refuses to stay closed. It may like to stay open just a couple of inches or so, or it may swing open all the way after you try to close. Either way, the fix is the same: Attach a magnetic catch to the cabinet rail or stile, then screw a magnetic plate to the door corner opposite the catch. The magnetic pull will hold the door closed. Kits start at $1 at home centers.

The fix is easy—use a touchup stain marker to fill in the scratch. A marker costs about $6 at home centers, and the stain dries in a matter of minutes. The tough part is finding the right color to match your finish. In fact, you may not be able to find an exact match, but with so many marker colors available, you'll come close enough that no one else will notice.

If you've got a real gash, or a chunk of wood missing, you'll need to fill in the problem area with epoxy filler or epoxy paste. Once it hardens, the epoxy acts like real wood, which means it can be sanded smooth and then painted or stained. A 6-ounce can of wood epoxy paste costs about $14 at home centers and hardware stores.

You'll have to take the corner apart before making the repair. Scrap off any dried glue and remove any fasteners that remain on the disassembled corners. Then re-glue the corner pieces using a couple dabs of wood glue and put the pieces back together. You'll need a clamp, or to use a brad gun to pin the corners together until the glue dries. If the other corner looks at all damaged or shows signs of coming apart, now is a good time to fix that one, too.

This symptom should tell you that the drawer is carrying more weight than it can support, and it's only a matter of time before the bottom literally drops out. At this point, just removing the heavy items won't fix the problem. Instead, reinforce the drawer by adding a layer of plywood over the existing bottom. Cut the plywood to size, squirt on some wood glue, and press the old and new bottoms together.