What direction do you turn a screw to loosen?

Answer:
It depends on the "handedness" of the thread of the screw. Most screws have right-handed threads that in order to loosen the screw, the screw is turned in a counterclockwise direction. If however, the screw has a left-handed thread, then to loosen it you would turn the screw in a clockwise direction. By common convention, right-handedness is the default handedness for screw threads. Therefore, most threaded parts and fasteners have right-handed threads so to loosen most screws you would turn the screw in a counterclockwise direction.
First answer by Tant012. Last edit by Muskdial. Contributor trust: 1 [recommend contributor recommended]. Question popularity: 3 [recommend question].