It is Graphite.

Clean it off the woodwork with a soapy cloth. I use plain unscented Dawn dish soap. Which is what they use to clean animals stuck in oil spills so you know it is safe.

On wood, follow up with a clean wet cloth to rinse off soap residue then wipe again with a dry towel to dry.

I figured if it was graphite the excess would have disappated by now. Still getting it (and bathroom door was getting squeaky so I puffed more in a month or so ago). Any ideas how to clean it all out and what to use to lube from now on? Woodwork is stained and poly'd (bathroom, linen closet, and Ds's trim are beeswax - experiment) and some is unfinished (like the basement door I just had DH take off for me to stain). Not sure I want to use soap and water on unfinished pine. Will mineral spirits take it off? I started with the upstairs (trim beeswax, then switched to poly for doors), it really doesn't seem to be sticking to poly all that much but it is sticking to beeswax and unfinished wood.

I've read Vaseline or sewing machine oil is good - but want to get the hinges and pins clean before I oil them with anything.

Vaseline is not a good lubricant for metal on metal contact, nor is sewing machine oil (it will run off).

Some white lithium grease works well.

It does not take more than a thin coat on the hinge pin.

You may also need some grease on the hinge knuckles were they rub each other.

I thought silicone was the recommended lubricant for hinges now? Attracts less dust than white lithium grease?

I have the same problem, btw. It's been on the "honey do" list for 3 years.

Thanks brickeeye. Does hardware store sell lithium grease? Or use a silicone like sue said?

What to use to clean everything (hinges, pins, and wood? Can be 2 different solvents)?

If it is graphite, it was applied by a person after the house was completed. So I doubt that it is graphite. The condition is quite common with hinges that have never been lubricated. The black dust is "finely divided iron oxide".

"I thought silicone was the recommended lubricant for hinges now?"

Silicone is not a lubricant for metal.
It can work on some sliding plastics and such (if the carrier it is in does not attack the plastic).

A very thin coat of white lithium grease on the contact surfaces (pin, inside the knuckles, and the bearing surfaces on the sides of the knuckles) works well.

Put a little on a cotton swab and spread it over the surfaces. Let it dry out for a few hours, than put everything back together.

Thanks for the clarification Brickeye.

Got the grease in a tube today, I'll apply to finished doors as best I can (pull pins one at a time) and do the others as I finish them. Still need ideas on what to clean the hinges and doors with first. A damp paper towel isn't getting it out of the grooves in the panels and casings, even with a fingernail. I can use mineral spirits on unfinished wood but how can I get this out of crevices on the polyurethaned wood w/o taking off the finish?

Anyone tried replacing pins with stainless steel pins

It isn't the pin generating the black dust, it's the knuckles themselves.

Casey

We've had this problem for years on every single hinge in our house. It's definitely not graphite, it's the actual hinge grinding itself to dust. Our house is only 15 years old, and some of our hinges have worn down 1/4" or more. We haven't found a lubricant that works more than a few weeks. The black metal dust has permanently stained the carpet and woodwork, and needs to be scrubbed off the trim every couple months or so (photos show approx 3 months worth of powder on lubricated hinges). I've never lived in a house where I had to lubricate hinges every few weeks and clean black dust off the walls and carpets from worn hinges. I feel like it's just the result of really poor manufacturing standards in the hardware industry during the era our home was built (around 2002)

. It would be a pain to replace all our hinge hardware (70-something hinges), and who knows if the replacements would be the same.