5 Essential Garage Door Maintenance Tips

garage door maintenance tips

Even as the largest movable part of most homes, garage doors are often overlooked and unappreciated, that is until there is an issue that prevents it from running smoothly. Most minor garage door issues that naturally occur over time can be avoided with a little TLC. So, whether you just purchased a new garage door and want to keep it running smoothly throughout the years or maybe just trying to extend the useful life of an older garage door and delay a complete replacement, we recommend the following 5 essential garage door maintenance tips to keep your garage door functioning like new.

Garage Door Maintenance Tips #1: Garage Door Lubrication Goes A Long Way

Lubrication is important and if done properly can keep your garage doors running efficiently and effectively extend the overall lifespan of the doors. However, there are several things to keep in mind when lubricating the parts of your garage door. While WD40 would seem like the most logical choice for lubrication purposes, we recommend a lithium or a silicone spray when lubricating garage door parts like the top part of the chain rail, hinges, metal rollers, stems, nubs, the arm bar, and the lock. While these components can benefit from occasional lubrication other components such as the chain, the garage door track and the spring should not be lubricated under any circumstances.

Garage Door Maintenance Tips #2: Monitor Weather Seals

Making sure your garage doors remains energy efficient should be a high priority for homeowners looking to save on energy costs. Take a look at the rubber seals along the threshold of your garage door. If you notice the seals are cracking or otherwise wearing away it’s probably time to replace.

Garage Door Maintenance Tips #3: Keep Your Garage Door Tracks Clean

Dirt and dust has a way of finding its way onto the tracks of your garage door and over time can seriously inhibit your garage door from functioning as well as it should. A simple proper cleaning of the tracks can go a long way in remedying this situation. We recommend using a damp towel with a little soap solution to clean your garage door tracks from time to time.

Garage Door Maintenance Tips #4: Test the Balance of Your Garage Door

Your garage door should be able to stay halfway open when disconnected from your automatic garage door opener. To test this, use the manual release mechanism to open your door halfway by hand. If it fails to stay open, your springs’ counterweight system is out of balance and in need of a tuneup.

Garage Door Maintenance Tips #5: Safety Features Need to Be Regularly Tested

Most garage door openers include numerous safety features, some required by law. Test these features on a regular basis. The auto-reverse mechanism should be fully working, and your battery backup should engage when the opener is disconnected from power if your opener includes a battery backup.

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