Cotton Balls glued to Kitchen Knob Screws
 

I am thinking of changing the knobs in my kitchen. I see that all of the knob screws (inside the door) have little cotton balls glued to them. What are these for? It seems like you aren't supposed to change the knobs.

Anyone know about this?

News to me. Have you tried googling it? Let us know what you find.

never heard of cotton balls, maybe felt buttons? The felt is sometimes used to keep the doors from making noise when closing. Either way you can take what ever is covering the screws off.
Steve

????

Wow! If so, this is the most innovative way to reuse those cotton balls from pill bottles...

I'm guessing to keep you from ripping your skin open when you need to open the door and grab the dish detergent, or have to clear the trap to the Insinkerator.

Is it safe to assume that you bought a preowned home? It seems to be a DIY "solution" to some unknown problem. I can't imagine the cotton balls being installed by the cabinet installer when new.

That was my assumption as well.

My guess is that they may have cut their finger on a screw that had a spur on it, and used the cotton balls to prevent it from happening again.

I would love to see a picture of this!
Steve

Home made Rawlplugs, because cupboard handles kept pulling off?
Must confess to using matchsticks years ago to give a screw some grip.

My guess is that the folks put those on to stop the noise and hard close of the doors. The doors probably did not have the little felt pads or the little silicone dots that control the hard close.

I vaguely remember getting the little dots at Lowes and installing them on our new home here four years ago.

I think you misunderstood the OP. The cotton balls were glued to the screws behind the knobs. They have no effect on the noise when closing the cabinet doors or drawers, because they are not located where the door contacts the frame when closing it.

I would think they used it instead of a washer so they wouldn't over tighten the head and damage the wood.

Uploaded pics to original post.

That is something I've seen a few times in my kitchen rehabs. They are placed on there for peace of mind that when you shut the door (maybe too hard) that the metal screw won't crack or break any glassware that may be sitting to close to the edge. In my opinion they are not necessary, especially if the new pulls/handles are installed properly. Just tear off the cotton balls (I've seen some with felt glued over them) and put on your new ones.