It’s possible that all you need to do to silence a squealing bed frame is tighten a few screws. But that’s often not enough.
Klein says that by the time you’ve noticed a noise, the bed frame may have already sustained some minor damage, such as indented wood or warped hardware. That means you’re left with small gaps around the frame that won’t close properly even with tight screws.
So anywhere that your hardware has gone loose, and stiff materials could rub together (wood, metal, maybe plastic), you should add some cushioning. The corner joints are a common pain point, as are the edges of the slats, where they rest on the side rails.
There’s no consensus on the best material for padding a creaky bed. Felt is a leading candidate, though. It’s soft yet sturdy, and it’s thin enough to fit into tight gaps. One of our favorite frames, the Thuma Classic Bed, comes with a felt strip for the slat edges. Some of the best DIY squeak-silencing videos I’ve seen use felt strips or rounds with adhesive on one side.
Woodworkers tend to recommend a different material: “My approach would be to supply a sparing amount of wax,” says Michael Fortune, a furniture maker in Ontario, Canada, and winner of the Award of Distinction from The Furniture Society.
Fortune recommends an odorless and nonflammable sliding compound but says that almost any kind of wax will do. Wax crayons are available at any hardware store. Even a candle will work, and I actually repurposed an (unused) toilet ring for my bed. You can use wax on wood as well as on metal or plastic joints.
One downside I’ve found with wax, and other DIYers echo this, is that it tends to get rubbed and squished out of place after a few months if the bed isn’t also level and stable. (More on that shortly.)
Some DIYers have also reported success with rubber strips, duct tape, electrical tape, and even bar soap.
None of the experts we talked to thought that using spray lubricants or grease is a good idea, even on metal frames. They’re even less likely to stay in place than wax and can make a mess of your mattress, frame upholstery, or flooring. It’s not that those substances can’t be used, but you probably have better options.
