Anyone know how we can unjam a drawer? We've moved and had to wipe down some furniture with some bleach water due to allergies and we left it outside to air dry. We cannot get this drawer out? Others are fine just one is not!
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I know there are lots of tips on the internet, but this lesser known hint might help: if possible, remove the back of the unit and then use a blow dryer on the sticky drawer. Might take a few sessions, but the fact that none of the other drawers got stuck means the situation is not hopeless! Good luck.
Humidity might be the problem, and a blow dryer might just work (even if from above and below the stuck drawer [if you can't remove the back]). However, cold often causes things to contract and might be another option. Can you set the unit itself in a cold room?
Perhaps remove drawers above and below to see if you can spot the source of the problem?
Try removing the drawers above and below the stuck drawer. Then place a mechanics lead light inside above or below the stuck drawer, and leave it on for several hours or even overnight, The heat from the light should dry out the wood enough to un-stick the drawer. When free, rub some wax -paraffin or candle, or even bar soap will work, on the edges and bottom runners of the drawer before putting it back in. If that doesn't work, if able to remove the back of the unit, use a hammer and block of scrap wood to tap on the back of the drawer bottom runners to free it. You might want to sand the drawer runners a bit and then coat with wax. Good luck and hope this helps.
Can you pull the drawer below it out? Sometimes if you gently giggle the drawer from below, it can be opened. If you cannot see the drawer from below, cold makes wood contract so if you are in a cold climate set it outside for 15 minutes on a dry day.
Try rubbing with paraffin.A wax candle also works. Haven't tried soy candles yet.
You can get an extension cord and put a light bulb in the closest drawer and this may help unstick it
I am assuming the drawer is empty. The extra weight creates friction between the drawer and the glides, especially if the glides are mounted on the sides of the drawer, and this makes the drawer harder to pull. A full drawer is heavier and easier to drop when you finally do get it out.
Grasp the handle and pull it gently but firmly toward you. If the drawer has two handles, grasp both of them and put equal pressure on each one. Drawers with glides mounted on the side tend to slide more easily if you lift the handles slightly to reduce the friction as as you pull on the drawer. Drawers with bottom glides often need a little side-to-side wiggling to get them to move. Keep pulling until the drawer is almost out.
Grasp the drawer by its sides and pull the drawer toward you with a sudden, firm motion. Try to keep tje drawer straight as you do this, because the drawer can get wedged if one side moves while the other doesn't.
If the drawer won't come out when you give it a firm tug, it probably has stops mounted on the back of the drawer. These stops are bumping into the back of the cabinet face to prevent the drawer from coming out. If so, the best way to remove the drawer is to lift the front of the drawer about 6 inches to slightly pivot it, then pull forward gently when the stops clear the cabinet frame.
Some cabinet makers install stops on the cabinet frame. These are usually no more sophisticated than simple screws or plastic tabs that have been screwed into the frame or the drawer. If you remove these stops with a screwdriver, you'll be able to get the drawer out.
If the drawer has metal glides, you usually have to depress the tabs on both glides simultaneously while you pull on the drawer to get it out.
Try to shake the drawer a bit, to wiggle it.
Or get a coat hanger (or some other sturdy wire) inside and try to reposition whatever is holding it closed.
There is a great post on Opening a Stuck Drawer
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