Painting Doors Is Easier (And Less Messy) Thanks To This Pool Noodle Hack

One way to update the curb appeal of your home with relatively little investment is by painting your front door with a fresh color. Painting any door in your home is fairly simple, but a few things may make the process a bit tricky. For one, if the door is closed, you can only effectively paint one side of it at a time, and you can't paint the edges. If you paint with the door open, you might have to constantly struggle to keep the door from moving too much or from closing completely as you work. One simple hack that keeps the door in virtually any open position you like is to use a pool noodle to hold the door still. It's quite similar to using a sliced-open pool noodle as a draft stopper for your door to keep cold air out (though if you need one of those, there's also a way to make a simple fabric-covered door-draft stopper with pool noodles).

A sliced-open pool noodle acts a bit like a door stop by wedging between the door and the floor. It works with nearly any hinged door of any size. If paint gets on the pool noodle, no big deal either. If you cut a strip to span the width of the door, it may even help stop some paint drips from getting on the floor, though you might still want to lay a tarp underneath to be extra safe.

After choosing the right type of paint for your doors and assembling your painting tools, this pool noodle hack is the finishing touch to make it as efficient as possible. Any pool noodle that's in fairly good shape will work for this project, so there's no need to buy a new one if you have some left over from last summer or from other projects. Cut a slice off the pool noodle about 5 inches long (or longer, if desired) using a serrated knife. Slice that piece lengthwise down to the hole in the center, so its shape is a bit like a hot dog bun. If you find that tricky to do with a serrated knife, use a utility knife or craft knife instead.

Open the door to a position you'd like it to stay in, and slide the piece of pool noodle under it so the door stays in one place. As you paint, you won't need to hold the door still with one hand and paint with the other. Remove the pool noodle any time you need to move the door to another position, and simply pop it back under the door again to hold it still. This technique could come in handy for painting the edge and top of the door, too.