This little-known hack might have you rethinking this classic home feature.

I've given very little thought to door stoppers throughout my life thus far. I'm a fairly frequent mover and know that craftsmanship quality varies, so I've held onto a decorative door stop for any door that isn't level enough to stay open on its own. But when I saw the latest door stopper hack trending on TikTok, I started to wonder if I'd been missing something all along.

When you think of door stoppers, you likely picture the spring-loaded type located on the baseboard that is designed to stop the doorknob from hitting the wall. But it turns out, preventing damage to drywall isn't their only use. Here's a hint: They may serve the same function as my trusty souvenir door stopper. We'll explain this surprising trick and what kind of doors it might (or might not) work on. If you can pull it off in your home, you have the potential to save yourself some frustration while simultaneously impressing your housemates.

Related: The 13 Best Door Stops of 2024 for Every Room in Your Home

There are several TikTok videos that demonstrate this little-known alternative use for door stoppers. A popular content creator posted a TikTok about it in 2022 to the tune of over 500,000 views. More recently, another content creator posted a close-up tutorial to TikTok that has already racked up more than 9.1 million views in just over two months. As usual, commenters had plenty of questions and objections, but most remarks involved disbelief that detail hasn't been made common knowledge.

So, what has heads scratching? We all know that those spring-loaded door stoppers are there to preserve your walls from damage caused by the knob as the door swings open. They're usually located on the baseboard molding directly in line with the doorknob and are made of tightly coiled stainless steel with a rubber cap on the end to protect the inside of the door.

As the videos point out, they can also prop a door wide open. In other words, stop it from closing shut, slightly or all the way -- just like you might use a freestanding door stop for the same effect. The way to do it is easy; some even say embarrassingly so. Using your hand or foot, bend the door stop down and push the door back towards the wall as far as you can. Note that your hand or foot will be somewhat in the way, so it won't open fully, but you'll get pretty close. Then, gently wedge the bottom of the door over the rubber tip of the stopper. If all goes as planned, the door will stay put until you're ready to shut it. To do that, simply bend the stopper down to release the door.

Related: How to Fix a Squeaky Door

When I first learned about the trick, I automatically assumed it would be pretty straightforward to pull off. Currently, I only have spring-loaded door stopper in my apartment, but I wanted to test it out. Admittedly, I was lazy with my first few attempts and tried using my foot to try and bend the stopper. When that didn't do the trick, I got down on the floor and used my hand instead. It still seemed my door wouldn't stay open despite my best efforts.

I then realized I was aiming for the rubber end of the stopper to stick out under the door frame, as witnessed in the viral video. Once I let go of that notion, it finally worked with the rubber tip wedged underneath the frame.

Related: How to Fix a Sticky Door

I truly found this alternative purpose for the doorstop helpful, especially since my new puppy occasionally thinks my decorative door stopper is a toy to play with. But it's also because of the dog that I don't want to keep my bedroom door open using this hack after reading a comment that made a valid point. If your pets, kids, or even yourself are prone to being clumsy, all it takes is one accidental bump into the door and the knob will put a hole in the wall without the stopper doing its traditional job.

So, what's a better solution? For one, adjusting your door hinges can go a long way in helping your door stay open. Second, consider investing in a magnetic door stopper, which will give you the best of both worlds: A stop and a prop.

Related: Your Guide to Troubleshooting Door Problems

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