Garage doors provide a combination of convenience, security, and refinement that is often under-appreciated…that is until something breaks. Being the largest moving part of most people’s homes, garage doors are susceptible to wear and tear that can degrade usability, reduce visual appeal, and even compromise safety and security.
While quality garage doors and garage door openers are generally very durable, a little preventative maintenance can go a long way towards ensuring that they provide years of dependable service. Follow these garage door maintenance tips to help keep your investment working for you.
Inspect & Detect
Look and listen to your garage door during use. Does it sound different than it usually does? Do the springs and cables appear to be in working order? Does the door seem to be operating smoothly? If something doesn’t “look right” then that’s a good sign that you should call a professional for a more detailed inspection and possible repair.
Keep Things Moving
It’s important to ensure that moving parts remain lubricated and free of obstructions. Apply lubrication to the rollers, hinges, pulleys and bearings, check that tracks aren’t bent and are free of debris, and make sure that rollers aren’t worn, chipped or cracked.
Run a Tight Ship
Every time your door opens and closes, the movement and vibration can slowly loosen hardware that may lead to inoperability and potentially unsafe conditions. Examine and tighten any loose bolts with the appropriate tools. When in doubt, call a professional.
Maintain Balance
Your garage door’s counterweight system is designed to prevent the motor from working too hard, which could potentially reduce its operating life. You can test your garage door balance by pulling the release handle (emergency cord) and raising the door about halfway up. If it begins to move back down, your door’s springs may need to be adjusted to bring it back in balance. Spring adjustments should be handled by a professional.
Reverse Course
Today’s garage doors are equipped with an auto-reverse feature (mechanical and photocell) that helps to prevent injury and property damage. Test the mechanical function by placing an object (brick or piece of wood) on the ground under the path of the closing door. As the door makes contact with the object it should automatically change direction. To test the photocell, simply activate your garage door so that it begins to lower, then (safely) pass an object through its line of site. If working correctly, the door will reverse direction and open once again. If either of these two tests fail, contact a professional garage door repair person.
Bonus Tip: Call the Pros
Garage doors are a big part of your home, and with just a little preventative maintenance they can continue to operate safely and dependably for years. At Durable Door, we pride ourselves on providing quality garage door products and friendly, dependable service to our customers. If you are ever unsure about how to safely maintain your garage doors and/or garage door parts, or would simply feel better by having a professional involved, please do not hesitate to call and speak to a customer care representative today at (973) 957-3257. We want to help you, and we do it right the first time!
May 4, 2017 at 10:57 pm
I want to take good care of my garage door. Maintaining the balance is a smart idea, so that you can be sure your springs are properly cared for. Something else to consider is to get your door professionally inspected once a year.
April 19, 2017 at 5:52 pm
I like your advice to listen to your door. New and “wrong” sounds are signals that indicate a mechanical issue. It’s important to stay on top of door repair for safety reasons.
April 10, 2017 at 7:12 pm
Thanks for your tip to be sure that you keep all of the moving parts on a garage door lubricated. I can definitely see how this would keep everything working longer. My wife has been after me to have a new door installed for a while now, so this would all be really good stuff for me to keep in mind when we do get a new one in.
April 7, 2017 at 1:07 pm
Thanks for the tips on taking care of your garage door. My wife and I are about to have a new door put in, and we want to make sure we can take good care of this one. Thanks for mentioning that you should regularly tighten loose bolts to keep it operational. I will be sure to do that.
March 28, 2017 at 6:42 pm
Thanks for the tips for taking care of a garage door. I don’t think I have ever applied lubricant to any part of my garage door before, so that is something I need to do. How do I find a good professional to help with repairs and things?
March 15, 2017 at 7:59 pm
That’s a good tip to listen to your garage door. If you hear a new noise a part of it may not be fastened correctly any longer. I’ll have to pay attention to my garage door’s sound when I leave for work in the morning.
March 15, 2017 at 6:25 pm
Thanks for the tip to moving parts on your garage door remain lubricated and obstruction-free. You also said that it’s important to listen to your garage door when it’s moving, so you can detect any odd grinding or other sounds. I think it’s a good idea to have a maintenance log attached to the door so that you can easily see when it was last checked out.
March 9, 2017 at 6:17 pm
You said that spring adjustments should be handled by a professional. I totally agree with this statement. My garage door, I noticed, that it wasn’t working properly. When I decided to get it repaired I had to contact a professional because I don’t have the knowledge or tools that are needed to fix it.
February 17, 2017 at 3:59 pm
You mentioned that making sure that you examine and tighten any loose bolts with the right tools is a great way to keep things running the way that they are supposed to since things can loosen up over time. I am wondering if that was our mistake with our garage door. There has been a lot of rattling when we open/close it so maybe calling someone in to have it checked out will be the best course of action.
February 9, 2017 at 6:57 pm
I really like your tip about tightening loose bolts. My husband is good at being on top of our garage door maintenance. I will pass these tips to my husband, as well to make sure we are properly taking care of our garage.
February 1, 2017 at 5:11 pm
Thank you so much for the advice on maintaining garage doors — I really appreciate it! I like what you said about not only looking at how your garage door functions, but also listen to it. I was unaware that even the slightest thing might cause a big problem with your garage door. Thanks for the advice!
January 5, 2017 at 7:12 pm
This is some really good information about garage doors. I like that you talked about how you should make sure that everything is moving properly. I know that I wouldn’t want to have to try to rip open my door.
December 14, 2016 at 5:24 pm
I agree that keeping moving parts of your garage door lubricated can benefit its performance. Keeping the gears properly lubricated could help you keep your garage door from getting damaged and help it last longer. I will make sure to ask this to the professional that installs my new door.
December 12, 2016 at 1:33 pm
I just got a new garage door, and I want to take good care of it. I hadn’t thought about how you should keep everything lubricated to make sure things move smoothly. In addition, you should also check the springs and make sure they are in good repair and not rusted.
December 8, 2016 at 1:11 pm
I’m glad you mention doing preventative maintenance to keep the garage door operating safely and dependably! It’s so much better to spend a little now to prevent spending much more on costly repairs later. Doing regular maintenance will help you make sure your garage doors last their full lifetime.
October 31, 2016 at 6:40 pm
Thanks for the advice to make sure to keep all of the moving parts lubricated! It is really easy to forget something as simple as lubricating your garage rollers, hinges, and pulleys. I wonder how one knows when it is time to replace their garage door completely?