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Use these six maintenance tips to keep your garage door in good standing no matter what. Read on!
Your garage door is the largest moving appliance in your home and you likely operate it multiple times each day. Yet, it often gets overlooked when homeowners are thinking about home repair and maintenance tasks.
Often, your garage door only receives attention when it is no longer working as it should. And by the time it gets to this point, you can expect to spend a sizable amount to repair it or, in the worst case, replace it.
Poor garage door maintenance can lead to significant stress on the automatic opener which will only accelerate its failure. You can keep your garage door in tip-top shape as long as you know some maintenance basics. Here are some useful tips.
Tighten the Hardware
The average garage door will move up and down hundreds of times a year. This motion and the accompanying vibration can lead to the loosening of track and door hardware over time. Check the brackets that hold the door tracks to the ceiling and walls. Look at the fasteners that anchor the automatic door opener unit to the frame.
Tighten any loose nuts and bolts with a socket wrench and screwdriver, then use a level to confirm the tracks are perfectly vertical in their vertical sections. You can always make minor adjustments to make it level. However, leave major adjustments to the professionals, like the experts at Welborn Garage Doors.
Look. Listen.
After some time of operating your garage door, you soon start to understand what its normal function looks and sounds like. A well-maintained and well-tuned garage door is fairly quiet and smooth when opening and closing.
Garage door problems will usually manifest in the form of scraping, grating, grinding, and/or squeaking sounds as well as jerky movements. The garage door comprises multiple moving parts. If one part is damaged, that could quickly initiate damage in other parts.
Clear and Clean the Doors and Door Tracks
Many garages end up as a storage space for the home’s extra clutter. Much of the dirt and dust from these items will find their way into the door’s mechanisms. Also, garage doors are exposed to a plethora of grime, gases, and chemicals from the vehicles’ exhaust.
Inspect the door tracks on each side to ensure they are free of dirt and debris. Sand, prime, and paint rust spots. Cleaning the door tracks and door is more than just about improving its appearance overall, it can significantly extend its lifespan as well. The cleaning technique you use depends on the type of door material you have, so do some research before you get started.
Lubricate
Regularly lubricate the doors rollers, extension-spring openers, torsion-spring openers bearings, and other moving parts to lower stress on them and extend their lifespan. Apply a high-quality lubricant such as white lithium grease on hinges and rollers at least twice a year, then wipe away any excess.
If any hinges and rollers already look like they are getting stuck, spray the part with a penetrating solution, wipe clean, then apply the grease. Wipe a small amount of oil on the torsion spring if it looks rusty. Be careful not to use a lubricant on any belt-drive opener.
Test Balance
A garage door that is not correctly balanced will have to work harder when opening and closing, which makes it unlikely to last very long. A properly balanced door should require minimal force to open and close.
You can test the door’s balance by pulling the automatic opener’s release handle before you lift the door until it is approximately halfway open. The door should hold in position without your assistance. If it isn’t balanced, your springs are worn out and old and need to be replaced. Also, check cables, pulleys, and springs to ensure they are symmetrical.
Replace Remote Batteries
A garage door opener remote’s 1.5-volt batteries will last about two years on average, depending on the frequency of use. You should always have a spare battery on hand if the one in use runs out without warning.
More recent garage door openers are equipped with a battery backup that serves as an alternative power source in the event of an outage. You can test the existence and work of this backup battery by disconnecting the power supply and seeing if the opener still functions.
When in Doubt, Call the Experts
Apply these tips to keep your garage door in excellent condition and extend its lifespan. Doing regular maintenance will also limit how often you will need to call up a garage door repair service for help. Nevertheless, when in doubt, have the experts do the maintenance for you.
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