Your garage is a crucial storage space and daily access point for your belongings, so you want to keep your investment in optimal condition. It provides easy access to your vehicle and storage, security, and weather protection. But to keep it smooth and safe, regular maintenance is necessary. Regular maintenance on your garage door can extend its lifespan and help you avoid future expensive repairs.
Follow these garage door maintenance tips to ensure your overhead doors run smoothly for years to come.
Inspect the Operation of Your Service Garage Door
The first step is to examine the operation of your garage door and identify any signs of wear and tear. You should identify potential issues before they become more significant problems later. You want your garage door to operate smoothly with minimal noise. If there are unusually loud noises, something may be an issue, and you may need to consult a service garage door technician.
So, preventative maintenance is something that any homeowner can perform.
Prioritize Fixing or Replacing Parts with Garage Door Repair
If you encounter a problem with the mechanism, do you wait for it to worsen?
Ignoring current issues can only escalate the situation. Arranging for any necessary replacements to be fitted can help reduce the need for larger parts or possibly even a full garage door repair or replacement in the near future.
A common issue is spring failure, where damage to the torsion springs prevents the garage door from opening. For torsion spring problems, seeking professional help for door opener and mechanical parts issues is crucial, as quick fixes can cause more harm.
Tighten Hardware
You probably open your garage door several times a day, every day. Opening your garage door three to four times daily can achieve an annual cycle of 1,000 to 1,400 cycles. Repeated use of the item results in vibration, leading to the loosening of nuts and bolts over time. You can easily tighten nuts, bolts, and roller brackets using a socket wrench and a screwdriver. Be careful not to overtighten hardware—this might cause damage and accelerate component wear.
Furthermore, you should avoid tightening red-painted hardware or hardware on the bottom roller fixture. Tightening or changing these components can damage your door or jeopardize safety, so always leave these to experts.
Lubricate Moving Parts
Properly lubricating all moving parts, including rails, hinges, and rollers, is crucial for your garage door to function properly. Over time, these components may gather debris, corrosion, or grime, which could cause friction and harm to the door mechanism.
Regularly lubricating garage doors will increase lifespan and prevent more costly future repairs. In addition, a door that has been properly greased opens with less strain and greater silence.
Inspect and Replace the Rollers
The rollers, whether steel or nylon, should be inspected twice a year and replaced every seven years; if you use your garage door regularly, this should be done even more frequently.
You must replace worn, chipped or cracked rollers as soon as possible. To fix this issue, remove and reinstall roller brackets that are not directly connected to the cable system.
Test Safety Features
When performing regular maintenance, you should always check the safety features. The photoelectric sensor and mechanical auto-reverse features prevent your garage from shutting on things and endangering people. You can quickly test these features at home with a few everyday household items.
It is recommended that you check the photosensor by waving a broom under it while the door closes automatically. Place a wood plank or brick under the door to inspect the mechanical auto-reverse. Start the door closing; it should reverse when it comes into contact with the object. If either of these features fails to reverse, seek professional assistance to assess your safety features.
