How to Fix a Squeaky Floor

Load up the cleaned squeeze bottle from a hair dye kit with baby powder, then use its pointed tip to inject the powder between two floorboards that are rubbing together and causing a squeak.

Why Floors Squeak: This Old House general contractor Tom Silva explains the anatomy of a squeaky floor: “The wood expands and contracts, and as it expands and contracts, the nails become loose. Some of the nails become loose, not all of them. When they do, they squeak. Sometime the nails squeak going in and out of the hole. Sometimes the boards themselves squeak against each other.”

Pro Tip: Tom Silva, This Old House general contractor, recommends Squeeeeek-No-More screws for a more permanent fix on persistent squeaks. The specialty screws draw flooring tight to joists, then their heads snap off, leaving just a 1/8-inch-wide hole. “The holes disappear in carpeting,” says Silva. “For wood floors, fill the holes with a wax filler stick in a matching color.”

For Deeper Squeaks: If baby powder doesn’t solve the problem, the squeak likely originates below the surface. As Tom Silva has demonstrated on This Old House, humidity causes wood to swell, which can pull nails up slightly — and when the wood dries, the nail is left raised just enough to create movement. Stepping on that spot causes the subfloor to squeak against the nail itself. In that case, you’ll need to re-secure the subfloor to the joists using specialty breakaway screws designed to snap off below the floor’s surface.