ᐅ IKEA Malm dresser is leaning – how to fix it?

Hello everyone,

I recently assembled an IKEA Malm dresser, but unfortunately it doesn’t stand completely level and appears slightly tilted on one side. I carefully followed the instructions and tightened all the screws properly. The dresser is placed on a wooden floor, which is slightly uneven, but I tried to compensate for this with felt pads.

My question: How can I reliably correct the tilt of the IKEA Malm dresser? Are there proven methods to fix this without having to completely disassemble the dresser? I want to avoid the tilt becoming worse or permanent.

I look forward to any helpful tips or advice, including common assembly mistakes that might cause such unevenness.

Glanon schrieb:
The dresser stands on a wooden floor that is slightly uneven, which I tried to compensate for using felt pads.

Tilt in the IKEA Malm dresser often results from uneven flooring or unevenly tightened screws. First, check that all screws at the joints are tightened evenly.

A quick fix is to use adjustable furniture feet or to attach special leveling wedges to the bottom of the dresser.

Additionally, use a spirit level to verify whether the dresser itself is actually tilted or if it is just due to the floor.

If the latter is the case, the subfloor is the issue. In this situation, permanent unevenness in the floor should be corrected with wooden, rubber, or plastic shims, not with felt pads.

Simply loosen all the screws again and then align using a spirit level.
Then tighten all the screws properly.
Felt pads are suitable only for protection, not for leveling.

GIBAPO schrieb:
A quick solution is to use adjustable furniture feet or to attach special leveling wedges to the bottom side of the dresser.

Thanks for the tip. What is the best way to retrofit adjustable furniture feet on the Malm dresser? Is it necessary to disassemble the piece, or is there an easy way to do this?

KESIRI schrieb:
Simply loosen all the screws again and then level it using a spirit level. Then tighten all the screws properly.

That sounds reasonable. I was just worried I might damage something on the carcass while trying to fix it. How sensitive is the material of the back panel and the sides when it comes to frequent screwing?

Glanon schrieb:
Is it necessary to disassemble the piece of furniture for this, or is there a simple way to do it?

You can attach adjustable furniture feet as separate adapters underneath the dresser by gluing or screwing them on, usually placing them at the corners is sufficient. Disassembly is not absolutely necessary but easier if the dresser is empty.

Glanon schrieb:
How sensitive is the material on the back panel and sides to frequent screwing?

For the Malm dresser, the sides and especially the back panel are made of particleboard – frequent screwing can cause the material to fray or weaken. Therefore, you should be careful and limit the number of screw attempts.

Alternatively, it helps to first loosen screws, slightly reposition them, and then tighten gently.

Drilling pilot holes when retrofitting can also be helpful to protect the material.