Your mailbox is pretty important since you need to be able to receive mail. When your mailbox isn’t in good shape, it might complicate things in certain ways.
For example, if your mailbox will not stay closed, people will be able to walk by and see the contents of the mailbox. If you get a package in your mailbox, thieves may choose to steal it.
Your mail also isn’t protected properly when the mailbox won’t stay closed. There’s a chance something could fall out of the mail for one reason or another.
What causes a mailbox to have issues with its door staying open? Is there anything you can do to fix it?
Read on to learn about how to handle this situation. This will ensure that you’re able to turn things around without it being a huge deal.
You Might Need to Tighten the Adjustment Tab
A standard mailbox that you buy from a retail store will come with an adjustment tab. The adjustment tab gives you a way to tighten or loosen the mailbox door.
If your mailbox door won’t stay shut, it’s likely that the adjustment tab is too loose. Simply tightening it up should be enough to fix the issue.
Get a pair of pliers from your toolbox and then locate the adjustment tab. You can tighten the adjustment tab by bending it upward toward the door.
This flattens the tab out and makes it tougher to open the door. You have to exert a bit more effort to open the door, but it’s not likely going to open on its own.
You should be able to find a happy medium where the tab won’t be too tight or too loose. Play around with it by bending the tab up and down to find the sweet spot.
Try opening and closing the door to see if it stays shut. Observe the door for several minutes and see if it falls open.
You can also try lightly tugging on the door to see if it opens. Generally, you want the door to stay put when you only lightly tug on it.
Tighten Screws or Hammer Down Nails
Depending on how your mailbox is designed, it should be held together by either screws or nails. Most retail mailboxes will be held together by screws.
Wooden mailboxes might be held together using nails. Sometimes the screws or nails will get loose over the years.
When the mailbox isn’t being held together as tightly as it should, the door might not line up properly. This will lead to the door not closing correctly due to the mailbox needing to be tightened up.
It’s easy enough to go around and use a screwdriver to tighten up all of the loose screws. Make sure that everything is tight so the mailbox will hold together as it should.
If you have a wooden mailbox that utilizes nails, you can try pounding down all of the nails with a hammer. After you’ve finished, try to close the door and make sure that things line up normally.
Adjust the door as necessary and then close it. See if the door stays closed.
If the door stays closed and doesn’t seem too loose, you should be able to move on. The mailbox door should stay closed for you now.
Is the Mailbox Damaged Beyond Repair?
Sometimes mailboxes might get destroyed or severely damaged. This can happen due to road accidents.
A car might hit a patch of ice during the winter and crash into a mailbox. Even something as simple as a cyclist not paying attention can lead to a mailbox getting damaged.
Something may have collided with your mailbox and damaged it. Are chunks of the mailbox missing?
If the mailbox is partially broken, it makes sense that the door wouldn’t close properly. You might need to repair the mailbox or get a new one.
Depending on how bad the damage is, it might be more practical to get a new mailbox. Of course, it’s likely easier to repair something like a wooden mailbox than a plastic one that you’d buy at a department store.
Assess the condition of the mailbox and then decide how you want to proceed. You can always buy a new mailbox or build your own mailbox if your current one isn’t going to last.
Building your own mailbox is a good choice if you have the carpentry skills to do so. You must be sure that you build the mailbox to the right specifications, though.
It’s best to get official designs from the postal service so you’ll know that your mailbox meets the requirements. Otherwise, the postal workers might not deliver mail to your mailbox.
Rust Issues
Metal mailboxes will sometimes have issues with rust. If your mailbox has a rusty door, it might not close properly.
The rust near the door could wind up impacting the hinges or many other things. There are so many reasons why the door might not remain closed.
Depending on what’s wrong, you might need to replace certain parts of the mailbox. It could be as simple as installing new hinges for the door.
You might also need an entirely new door if it’s badly rusted. In some cases, it’ll be better to get a new mailbox if the majority of the mailbox is rusty.
See what you can do and repair or replace sections of the mailbox. You should be able to get the mailbox door to close properly once you do so.
Final Thoughts
Now you know what you need to do when your mailbox door won’t stay closed. It can be an annoying issue to deal with, but it’s not necessarily a difficult one.
Often, you can fix the mailbox door by simply using pliers on the adjustment tab. The tab might be too loose, and that’s the reason why the door isn’t staying closed.
Other issues could be to blame as well. Your mailbox might need to have screws tightened.
There might be rust issues to address, or your mailbox may have been damaged due to a collision of some sort. Assess your mailbox and take the appropriate action to get the door to stay closed.
I have a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When I’m not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies…I’m at home with my wife, two daughters and a dog. Outside of family, I love grilling and barbequing on my Big Green Egg and working on projects around the house.