How to Put a Closet Door Back on Track in 8 Steps

When the closet doors keep falling out of the track, it can make the whole room seem like it’s falling apart. This guide will help you solve that problem for good.

Even better, it’s not an expensive fix, so you should be able to keep your budget in check while getting your closet doors back on track! Just keep reading, and we walk you through everything that you need to know!

What You’ll Need

The last thing that you want to do is get halfway through a job and realize that you don’t have the tools that you need. Here is everything that you need to get the job done right here. Fortunately, you don’t need that many tools to do the job right.

Preparing Your Workspace

Gathering everything that you need is just the first step in the process. Next, you need to ensure that you have your workspace to get the job done. A worktable that you can put the track and door on will make the job far easier.

At the very least, you need some sort of hard, level, and clean surface that you can work on. Otherwise, you might find that even the simplest tasks are far more challenging and demanding than necessary.

You also want to ensure that there are no obstructions around the closet door that you’re working on. You’ll need to slide the door around, and the last thing that you want is to hit a bunch of objects as you’re trying to take the door off or put it back in place.

Inspecting Your Closet Door

It’s important to note that you don’t necessarily need to complete all these steps to get your closet door back in the track. Sometimes, all you need to do is angle the door and slide it back into place (step 8), but other times, you need to complete them all.

So, look at this as a general guide. If you follow every step, it’ll certainly get your closet door back in the track and working like new, but you shouldn’t need to follow every step.

How to Put a Closet Door Back on Track (8 Steps)

1. Remove the Floor Keeper

It’s often one of the most overlooked pieces of the door, but it’s critical to it functioning properly. By removing the floor keeper, it’s easier to move the door around and reinsert it into the tracks, if that’s what it needs.

It also enables you to double-check all the hardware to ensure that it’s in good condition and that the door won’t keep jumping the track once you get it back in place. To remove the floor keeper, all you need to do is remove the screws, and the floor keeper should slide right out of place.

2. Remove the Door

Once the floor keeper is out of the way, the door should drop down and you can completely remove the door from the tracks. To remove the door, simply lift it and pull it out at an outward angle while dropping it down.

Since the door is large and can be heavy, we recommend having two people for this task so the door doesn’t fall and damage anything or hurt you.

3. Clean the Tracks

Once the door is out of the tracks, it’s time to clean them out. Over time, the tracks collect dirt and junk, and this can keep the door from sliding along smoothly. Soap, water, and a rag are all that you need to clean out the tracks.

If there are any other types of obstructions inside the tracks, now is the time to remove them if you can. If they’re stuck inside the tracks because the tracks themselves are damaged, move on to the next step and remove the obstructions.

4. Straighten the Tracks

Take a hard look at the tracks, and see if they’re straight. If the tracks are not straight, you need to straighten them out to get them working properly. To do this, you need a woodblock and a rubber mallet.

As to the exact width of the woodblock you need, it depends on the tracks that you have. But typically, a ¼” or ½” wide block will do the trick.

If the track is bent outward, use a rubber mallet to gently push it in. If it’s too far in, insert the wooden block and gently tap it down the entire track. This will push the track out as it goes, and it’ll leave it at a uniform width throughout.

5. Remove Obstructions/Reinstall Tracks

Once you finish straightening out the entire track, it’s time to remove any obstructions that you couldn’t remove earlier and reinstall the tracks if you had to take them off. Ensure that all the screws/nails are completely flush so the tracks have a smooth place to ride.

6. Replace Rollers (If Necessary)

Now that the tracks are in good working shape, it’s time to inspect and potentially replace the rollers. They should be completely round and rotate freely. If they’re damaged, you’ll need to replace the rollers to ensure that they stay in the tracks.

During this step, you should ensure that all the rollers are at the same height and that they’re not sitting on the floor. If the rollers don’t raise high enough, you’ll need to replace them too. Ensure that the new rollers sit at the same height as the old ones.

7. Lubricate the Tracks

Whenever you’re having issues, one thing that you should always try is to lubricate the tracks. All you need is WD-40. Spray down the entirety of the track, and give it 5 to 10 minutes to settle into all the different grooves for maximum efficiency.

8. Reattach the Door

At this point, you’re ready to reattach the closet door! You slide it back up in place at a slight angle, and then push it back and drop it into the floor keeper. All you need to do is try it out and ensure that it works just like it should!

Final Thoughts

It might take a bit of elbow grease, but there’s no reason that you need to settle for a closet door out of its tracks. With these steps, we’re confident that you can get any closet door back in its tracks and keep it from falling back out in the future.

Featured Image Credit: Irainero, Pixabay