What You Need To Know
- A broken door handle can really impact the flow of traffic through a canteen, hurting operations
- In many cases, fixing the issue is as simple as replacing a broken door handle spring
- Use this quick guide to make short work of door spring handle replacements
- Keep canteen doors working safely & smoothly with new handle springs
In any canteen, having a fully working door is super important. Staff need to be able to move to and from the canteen without being delayed by doors that continually stick or jam. That’s why, if you have any issues with your door handles, it pays to check every part – including the door handle spring.
Such an otherwise innocuous part of your door’s hardware can be hard to spot as the problem. Since we cannot see the door handle spring unless we remove the handle itself, it’s not always easy to know if this is your problem. In this straightforward guide, inspired by information from door-furniture experts at Locks & Hardware, you should be able to determine whether your springs are the issue and what to do next.
Why Would A Canteen Door Handle Be At Risk Of Spring Damage?
Why does a canteen door remain at risk of springs failing? It can come down to continual usage. Because these doors are used more often than other doors, the parts in the doors – including the door handle springs – can wear out a little quicker than expected.
Over time, the accumulation of usage can cause parts to wear out, get stuck, jam, or even just move out of their intended alignment. Either way, you’ve got a problem. The other main cause of a door handle not working in a canteen is the accumulation of debris, including spillages, blocking up the door mechanisms.
The Consequences Of Damaged Door Handle Springs In Canteen Doors
Door springs are generally very resilient, but, like anything else, they can eventually wear out. When that happens, you are left with a problem – the door handle is far less likely to work properly. When your door handle springs wear out, it causes an issue with the handle’s function, meaning that:
- Your canteen door might no longer work as efficiently as it should
- Staff are slowed down due to the door constantly sticking or jamming
- Potential foot traffic issues, meaning delays in getting the job done effectively
- Higher risk of delays in delivering meals and/or staff getting through the day
As you can imagine, these are all notable issues. It might only mean a small delay for each person when the door sticks, but over the course of a day, week, month and year these delays all add up. If you want to make your canteen more efficient, keeping the canteen doors working 100% is very important.
How do you avoid this, then? Most of the time, your best bet is to repair or replace your door handle springs.
Fixing & Replacing Worn Handle Springs In Canteen Doors
With the constant movement in a canteen, especially at meal hours, your doors must be in full working order. When something as simple as the door spring handle wears out, you have two options: replace the spring or repair it. Usually, your best bet is to go with the former option.
Replacing Your Door Handle Spring The Easy Way
Most of the time, you’ll need to take off the door handle to start replacing the door handle spring. So, go and fetch a screwdriver – you might also wish to grab some lubricant. You’ll also need a replacement door handle spring – but more on that in a moment.
- Once you have the tools that you need, take the door handle off so you can see into the door handle’s internal workings. Usually, this needs you to remove a few screws.
- Remove the backplate.Now, you’ll need to remove the door handle backplate. This usually requires you to slide it off; it should not have any screws to keep the backplate in place.
- Check to see if your door spring handle cassette can be removed.On most newer doors, you should be able to slide the spring cassette out; older doors cannot be removed.
- If you can remove the spring cassette, pull it out.Most of the time, you can simply pull the worn-out door handle spring out of its position and then fit a replacement.
- Find a suitable replacement.You’ll likely now need to take your current door handle spring cassette to a hardware store and ask them to source a suitable replacement.
- Fit the replacement.With your replacement door handle spring ready to be fitted, give the mounting area a thorough clean and dry and then press the new spring cassette into place.
- Refit your door furniture.Put the backplate back into position, re-fit your door handle, and then test. If working right, your handle should return to its level horizontal position after use.
Keeping Your Door Handle Springs In Working Order
We recommend that you have your maintenance staff check the condition of your door handle springs regularly, ideally once per month or every two months at most. The good news is that to keep your door handle springs working, you usually just need to apply some lubricant to them regularly.
A bit of lubricant and also some in-house checking to see if the springs still line up properly in the handle mounting area is enough. If your handles don’t feel like they fight you and return to their neutral position after use, you can say with confidence that your handle springs are fine.
If you notice that your door handles stick when you pull the handle up or down, though, it’s likely an issue with the handle springs. Replacing them is easier than trying to repair the issue. If you really want to try to save money, give the handle springs a thorough clean and test them to see if they work any better.
Regular Maintenance & Handling Spring Replacements Are Essential
Using our guide above, you should find it a little easier to ensure that your door handle springs are in full working order. Making sure your canteen staff can work at full flow without any delays caused by avoidable door jams and handles sticking is important, especially during daily rush hours.
Use this quick guide to maintain and, when needed, replace any door handle spring that is no longer in full working condition. Do this often enough, and the cleaning & replacement process will soon feel like second nature to you & your maintenance staff!
