ᐅ How can Malm furniture be assembled so that it does not wobble?

Hello everyone, I am currently facing the challenge of assembling an IKEA Malm piece of furniture (specifically a chest of drawers) so that it doesn’t wobble. My problem is that even with correct assembly, the chest always wobbles a little or is not completely stable on uneven floors. Does anyone here know reliable techniques or mechanical adjustments to assemble furniture so that it remains stable and wobble-free on uneven surfaces? I am not only interested in short-term solutions but ideally also in those that provide a more durable mechanical fix. Are there any special tools or aids that you would recommend? Thanks in advance!

Hello Tarik63,

First, it’s important to understand the reason behind the wobbling of Malm dressers: the design is modular and optimized for flat floors, so even slight unevenness can cause instability.

1. First, check if all screws are fully tightened. IKEA furniture tends to settle slightly after the initial assembly.

2. The classic solution is to use adjustable furniture glides or felt pads that you can stick under the legs. There are also self-adhesive plastic glides with screws that allow height adjustment. These are especially useful on uneven floors.

3. For a more professional option: you can use so-called “furniture leveling screws” that screw into the existing holes. This lets you precisely adjust the height of individual legs.

4. If the floor is very uneven, a small metal or wooden plate as a base, equipped with leveling screws, can help.

I’m curious about the exact nature of your floor (stone, wood, carpet?) and whether you have already tried any glides. Maybe you could measure the height of the legs with a spirit level?

Best regards

You can make Malm dressers stable and wobble-free by attaching small washers or self-adhesive felt pads to the shorter legs. This allows you to adjust the height and stabilize the standing position.

As a supplement: Malm dressers usually have fixed feet without built-in adjustment options. The wobbling mainly occurs due to uneven floors, which cannot be compensated for by the rigid construction.

An effective solution is to use height-adjustable furniture feet. These can generally be screwed into existing pre-drilled holes but may require slight re-drilling. Alternatively, sturdy glides or felt pads can be used, with thickness adjustable by trimming. It is important that the piece of furniture is perfectly level after installation to ensure stability.

In most cases, simple solutions like felt pads are the most cost-effective option, but they quickly reach their limits on strongly sloped floors.

Thanks in advance for the tips. My floor is wood parquet that wasn’t installed completely level. The dresser has four legs, all with the original black plastic gliders. I’ve already tried putting some felt pads underneath, but it feels like the dresser lacks stability and gives slightly when, for example, you pull on a drawer.

Nathanaelk schrieb:
You can use so-called "furniture leveling screws" that are screwed into the existing drilled holes. This allows you to precisely adjust the height of individual legs.

What exactly do you mean by that? Do I have to take the furniture apart for this, or are these special attachments? Please explain in more detail—I want to avoid damaging anything on my first attempt.

Tarik63 schrieb:
What exactly do you mean? Do I have to take the furniture apart for that, or are those special attachments?

Good question, Tarik63. Leveling feet are usually height-adjustable legs that you install instead of the original gliders. You don’t need to fully disassemble the furniture, but you do have to remove the existing gliders – these are usually just plugged in or screwed on. Then you screw the leveling feet in the same spots; sometimes a small pilot hole is necessary if the screws are thicker.

The advantage is that you can adjust the height with a small knob on the screw until the piece of furniture is perfectly level. This makes the furniture much more stable, without it wobbling on felt pads or similar materials.

If you want to keep the original look, there are also leveling feet with black caps or designs that visually fit well.

Hope this clears up your question.