Cooking often involves constantly opening and closing cabinet doors or drawers. While every homemaker strives to be as careful as possible, accidents happen, especially in stressful situations like burnt food or boiling liquids. The sudden slamming of a door can result in damage to the cabinet’s edge, hinges, and the facade itself. Using cabinet dampers in the kitchen helps maintain peace and quiet, even in households with varying schedules. In the quiet of the night or early morning, the unexpected slam of a door can be especially loud and startling.
Moreover, using cabinet dampers in the kitchen positively impacts the durability of your furniture:
- The cabinet’s edge experiences minimal wear and tear.
- The facade remains undamaged, preserving its appearance over time.
- Cabinet hinges are not subjected to additional impact loads.
However, when choosing dampers, it’s recommended to opt for hardware from reputable and reliable manufacturers.
Choosing cabinet dampers for kitchen cabinets
Any cabinet, even one that’s already installed, can be made quieter simply by replacing the hardware. However, it’s more cost-effective to do this during the initial design and ordering phase of the cabinetry.
Hinged Doors
Hinged doors are most commonly equipped with cabinet hinges that have built-in dampers and shock absorbers. These can be:
- Inset, overlay, or semi-overlay: Depending on the door opening style, the hinge can be overlayed, fully recessed, or partially recessed.
- Corner (degree) hinges: Hinges are categorized by their opening angle, which can range from 30 to 180 degrees depending on the design.
Some manufacturers offer overlay dampers that can be installed on existing cabinet hinges. However, it’s important to consider the design of the hinge, as not all hinges are compatible with overlay dampers.
Drawers
Slides can also gently close drawers without a jarring noise. Dampers for slides can be purchased separately. However, most furniture hardware manufacturers offer slides with built-in dampers, requiring a complete replacement of the existing slides.
How to choose slides with dampers for drawers:
- Measure the depth: Kitchen drawers are typically 450mm deep. However, there’s a much wider range of options available, from 250mm to 600mm.
- Determine the slide type: The type of slide depends on the drawer’s construction. If the drawer box is made of particleboard and the bottom is made of fiberboard (rarely particleboard), ball-bearing (telescopic) slides with dampers are suitable. If the drawer sides are metal and the bottom and back are made of particleboard, you’ll need to choose a metal box system.
Lift-up Doors
The horizontal placement of upper kitchen cabinets requires upward opening. Various lift mechanisms are used to hold the doors in place. Their primary function is to keep the doors in a vertical position. Typically, with proper adjustment, any lift mechanism, from a budget gas lift to an expensive electric drive, will ensure a smooth return of the door to the closed position. Installing dampers on lift-up doors is unnecessary; shock absorbers and dampers are sufficient.