Your garage door goes up and down about 1,500 times a year. That’s a lot of movement for a mechanism to handle. The more things move, the more likely it is for a piece to fall out of place or wear out over time. Fortunately, routine maintenance on the garage door is simple and effective. Taking a few simple steps can help you extend the life of your garage door and can prevent the need for future improvements.
Here are some things that must be done during the annual inspection of your garage door:
- Watch and listen to the doors when they move
Step number one for the maintenance of garage doors is to move the door and listen to the sounds it makes. There might be grinding, scraping or rattling. This is a good indication whether certain parts are broken or require lubricating. A well-cared for garage door is normally fairly quiet.
Be on the look out for sudden, jerky movements as well. Check each side of the door to see if springs, pulleys and cables remain symmetrical. If something seems out of place, or if you notice irregular movements, it may be a sign that something is wrong.
- Clean and examine the tracks
The track, which is located on both sides of the garage door along the wall, must be perfectly straight. You can use a level to make sure that they are perpendicular to the floor. However, if you find anything out of place, call a garage door expert.
To clean the tracks, spray them with a little brake cleaner to get rid of dust and dirt. Avoid lubricant on them, as if it’s too slippery it will repel the rollers. During a clean, keep an eye out for rust signs.
- Tighten up any hardware
Vibrations that come with regular movements can result in parts loosening over time. Hinges, bolts and rollers can be tightened using a socket wrench.
- Examine the rollers
Rollers that attach to the garage door tracks can often require replacement. Check them and look for any worn, chipped or broken parts. If anything looks like it requires replacing, it may be time to call a professional to replace all the rollers. For Garage Doors Swindon, visit a site like Up and Over Garage Doors, a leading supplier of Garage Doors Swindon.
- Lubricate all moving parts
Routine lubrication makes your garage door move smoothly, and reduces the stress placed on the different parts. Rollers and hinges should be lubricated several times per year. You can do this by spraying silicone or white lithium grease on each hinge and roller and wipe off the excess. It is important to remove the excess because these oils can attract dirt.
- Test the counterweight
When your door is not balanced properly, it is still going up and down, but the opening will do more of the heavy lifting. In this case, the opening may wear out quickly. Although you should not attempt to fix anything associated with a counterweight or spring system, you can test to make sure it works.
With the garage door closed, find the red cable release on your automatic garage door opener and release it. Then, manually lift the garage door and stop halfway. The door should stay in place when you release. If it falls back, you should call a professional garage door technician.
