Like everything else in your home, your garage door needs to be well maintained. When you take good care of it, you’ll prolong its lifespan and ensure that any issues are kept to a minimum. The best part is that you can do much of the basic maintenance yourself. Here are our top 7 garage door maintenance and repair tips to keep it running smoothly in tip-top condition.
1. Visually Inspect Your Door
The first thing to do when performing maintenance is to do a visual check of the garage door itself. This will show you whether anything is visibly wearing out or nearing the end of its life. There are many moving parts to the door, so check everything, including the rollers, cables, hinges, etc. Also, operate the door and observe it as it opens and shuts.
You’re looking to see if it opens and closes smoothly. Is there any excessive noise when you use the door? Is it jerky at any point in the process? Is the door in alignment? If there are any issues, you’ll need to take the appropriate steps to correct them. In many cases, the best idea will be to call a garage door repair company to help you.
2. Check the Safety of Your Garage Door
Then, you want to ensure that your garage door is safe. You’re using it every day, so you want to be sure that you’ll be safe as you do so. There are several tests that you’ll need to perform. Firstly, test the garage door balance by unplugging the opener and opening the door manually to about halfway. You’re looking to see if the door will stay open by itself when you do this. Next, test your auto-reverse.
Place a piece of wood in the door’s path, then close it with the garage door opener remote. If the door touches wood, it should automatically reverse and open again. Finally, test your photo eyes. These should be fully aligned to tell if anything’s in the door’s path. You can use a string between them to readjust them both until they’re level. Test them by waving an object between them as the door is closing. You should see the door open back up again.
3. Check All the Hardware
Now you’re ready to take a good look at the garage door hardware and make sure that it’s in good condition. The hardware can be rattled loose as the door is operated, so you must correct this issue as you maintain the door. Check your tracks and hinges first, using a socket wrench to tighten up any bolts or fasteners that are coming loose.
Next, check for wear on the garage door rollers. You’re looking for evidence of wear on the bearings or cracks in nylon bearings. These will need to be replaced if so. Now look for wear in the lift cables. This can be rust, wear, or broken strands. Again, you’ll need to call an expert to help with this repair.
4. Service the Seal and Springs
Your garage door seal keeps the weather and pests out of your garage, so you’ll want to ensure it’s in good condition. If the seal looks brittle or worn, you can remove it and replace it easily. As for the springs, these are an essential part of your garage door.
You’re looking to see if they’re showing signs of wear or whether they’re starting to lose tension. If they are beginning to wear out, they need to be replaced. They are potentially dangerous as even worn-out springs hold a lot of tension, so you’ll want an expert to handle this.
5. Maintain the Garage Door Opener Chain or Belt
Your garage door opener chain or belt will need some servicing, as it works hard to open and close your door daily. If you hear groaning sounds when you open the door, that’s a sign that it will need some attention. Before you work on the chain, disconnect the power supply to the opener, raise the door to about chest height, and then disconnect it from the opener. Close the door manually, and you’re ready to go.
You’ll want to ensure that your chain or belt is properly tightened. Typically, an adjustment bolt on the opener will be connected to the chain and nuts to adjust the drive mechanism. You’ll want to tighten the buts until the chain is about a quarter of an inch from the bottom rail. Check your garage door opener instructions, as these will tell you exactly how to do this on your garage door opener.
6. Clean the Garage Door
Cleaning your garage door is essential, as it will help keep it in good repair. How you clean it will depend on the kind of garage door you have. For example, a wooden door must be wiped with a clean, dry cloth. If it’s vinyl or another synthetic material, you’ll need to use the appropriate cleaner for that material.
As you clean the door, look for any holes, rust, or other damage. You can patch holes with wood filler and sand them to get a good finish. Rust can also be sanded away. Rinse the door down and allow it to dry. Finish by repainting the door to get a cohesive look.
7. Call a Local Garage Door Maintenance and Repair Expert
Finally, if you come across any problems while you’re maintaining your garage door, and they’re not covered in this list, then you’re often better off calling an expert to handle it. Get in touch with Your Garage Door Guys. We’ve got you covered. This will benefit you as we’ll be able to correctly diagnose and solve the problem, saving you a lot of money.
Now you know how to do basic maintenance on your garage door and ensure everything is kept in top condition. Do regular maintenance, and your garage door will have a long lifespan.