Cruelly underestimated and for a long time denied their rightful place in the fitted kitchens’ hall of fame, cabinet hinges have only recently been recognized in the priority pecking order of the kitchen cabinet compendium. And yet, the humble cabinet hinge is the kingpin that allows millions of kitchens to function properly, day after day, month after month and year after year.

Toiling away unseen, bearing the brunt of a heavy load, the cabinet hinge really would be more conspicuous by its absence. It’s a hidden hero. Not only does it allow you to smoothly open the cabinet door, but it also puts up with the said door year after year, without complaining. Such loyal service should be rewarded. Here’s how you can show your appreciation:

A Good Lubricant

Your average kitchen cabinet hinges will only go on being smooth operators if you help them out from time to time with a little oil. Just a little goes a long way. A drop now and again on the hinge will prevent that horrific grinding noise as you open the cabinet. This preventive measure will also drive out moisture (moisture and oil really don’t get on together) and thus help to prevent rust.

Many people ask “how much oil and how often?” It’s a matter of common sense. There’s no point in drowning the hinge and its supporting wood in oil, especially as oil may have undesirable effects on supporting wood, into which the cabinet hinges have been fixed. Oil that leaks into the fiber of wood will soften it and reduce its ability to retain screw fittings or to resist stress. Like water, oil soaking into wood may also lead to bloating, warping and paint shedding, all of which can either stress or pollute the cabinet hinge even further.

No Improper Stress

Cabinet hinges are made to open at right angles compared to the doors that they carry and the cabinet elements to which they are attached. Pulling downwards on cabinet door that is fixed above close to the ceiling or upwards on a cabinet door that is fixed below on the floor will bend the hinge. Little by little, deformation and metal fatigue set in. Over time, the repeated and improper stress shortens the useful life of the cabinet hinge. So make sure that you avoid these damaging actions and open doors at right angles so as to protect cabinet hinges.

Don’t Let it Get Damp or Wet

The cabinet hinge itself should remain dry to avoid any problems of rust that we mentioned earlier. But just as important, the support into which the hinge is fixed needs to remain dry as well. This is crucial if the support is made of wood. The difference in resistance and tensile strength between wet and dry wood is immense. If you want an indication, think of the difference between wet and dry paper. Dry paper resists tearing, wet paper falls apart in your hands. So keep everything dry to ensure that your cabinet hinge can carry on doing the job it was designed for.

When your door hinges have gone past their prime, you can’t always find matching hinges to replace the ones that had treated you so well, for so long. So, your only option is to replace all the hinges on a door and if there are more doors in the room, you’ll probably have to replace those as well, or else that one hinge will be a tacky standout.

Although they are small pieces of hardware, they will catch the eye if there’s one that doesn’t match. It’s the old truth that no one notices when things are right, but they always seem to see when things are wrong.

Most doors today are sold pre-hung, with hinges on them, when you get a new door it usually comes with factory standard door hinges. If you are remodeling you want to make sure the new door hinges fit the style of all the other ones in the house. Thankfully they are easy to swap out. The holes for door hinges are usually standard as long as you buy the same size that you had previously.

The door hinges you have will likely have either two or three holes. How you change the door hinges depends on which style you have. If you are replacing three-hole door hinges, you should start by putting in the middle screw first, then put in the bottom screw. Finally you should put in the top screw. If you repeat this on both the top and bottom of a cabinet door you will be able to keep your door in alignment. If you have two-hole door hinges things can get a little trickier. The easiest way to do them is to have someone help you. Their job will be to hold the door in place while you put the screws in. You can also balance the door on something while you put the screws in. But, this can be a little frustrating if the door moves or shifts before you get both screws in place.

When you are shopping for door hinges to use, you may find yourself marveling at all the designs on the market, but you need to keep a few details in mind. There are two choices in door hinges – removable pin or fixed pin. Which one you want will depend on if you ever need to take the door off. Removable pin doors allow you pop the door down should you need to do something like move a piece of furniture through a doorway that is a little too skinny for the furniture pieces. Also make sure to look at how your door hinges are currently constructed and that any bolt on the new door hinges won’t interfere with your molding.

Author Jennifer Akre, owner of many sites dedicated to indoor and outdoor home decor products and information, provides online consumers with advice on purchasing gorgeous cabinet hinges decorative door hinges and stylish hinges.