Many exterior doors have a screen, glass or combination door on the outside to allow air or light in if you want to leave the main door open.

These doors are generally made of aluminum and have one or two automatic closers attached to them. Over time, the automatic closer can get out of adjustment causing either the door to slam shut or worse, never close completely.

A door that won’t close completely is defeating the purpose, and a door that constantly slams shut can cause other components to break or get out of adjustment.

Fortunately, adjusting these doors is fairly simple. All that is required is a screwdriver.

First, open the door all the way. On the rod that connects the closer to the door, there is a small washer. If you move the washer against the closer, it will stay open in that position. If your door doesn’t have this feature, just take a pair of locking pliers and clamp them to the rod next to the closer mechanism. This will serve the same purpose.

On the other side of the closer, where it attaches to the door, there is a small pin which holds the closer in one of three positions. Try moving that pin to the other positions and see if that helps. If it is still not perfect, just leave it in the position that works the best.

On the end of the closer barrel, there is a small adjustment screw. Turn the screw a quarter of a turn in either direction and test the closer.

If this makes the problem better, continue making small adjustments and testing after each adjustment. If the first test is worse, then turn it back a quarter turn in the opposite direction.

Continue making small adjustments and testing until the door closes completely without slamming shut. If your door has two closers, make the same adjustments on both.

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