How to keep a self-closing door open just enough for pets
Standard solutions like folded towels often wedge self-closing doors too tightly or allow them to swing completely shut or block air vents. This prevents pets from reliably pushing the door open to walk through while still allowing it to partially close.
Core Friction Pattern
Analysis of 3 peer accounts across online developer and community forums reveals that “How to keep a self-closing door open just enough for pets” repeatedly surfaces due to edge-case mismatches between standard defaults and real-world environments. Standard troubleshooting frequently falls short, compelling practitioners to develop custom workarounds.
+6 alternative community-tested workarounds cataloged below.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
How to keep a self-closing door open just enough for pets
- 1Throwing a folded dish towel over the top of the doorDid this help you?
- 2Using a pool noodle or semi-slit pipe insulation on the edge of the doorDid this help you?
- 3Wrapping a towel around the door knob on both sidesDid this help you?
- 4bending hinge pins with a hammer to increase frictionDid this help you?
- 5inserting a piece of string or cardboard with the hinge pinDid this help you?
- 6using Velcro on the door and door stopDid this help you?
- 7installing magnetic door stopsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“We currently throw a folded dish towel over the top of the door to keep it from closing all the way but the problem is sometimes it gets wedged in there too tight and she can't get the door open.”source ↗
“But I cannot find anything that would keep the door ajar - allow the dog to open it - and let the door close back but not all the way.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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