A garage door is one of the most important exterior features of a house. There are three reasons for this: (1) it gives security to your valuables, (2) it regulates the warm temperature inside your place especially in winters, and (3) it can store many things like appliances and vehicles.
However, it is normal for a garage door to have mechanical issues even though it was built for heavy usage. Oftentimes, homeowners neglect the essentiality of a garage door because they thought it was built to last a lifetime. They tend to overlook its condition, leaving it deteriorating with no maintenance, until the damage gets worse and affects how the door operates.
Conducting regular maintenance will keep your garage door in good condition and extend its usual lifespan which is 10-15 years. You can perform these easy maintenance steps by just learning a little more about garage doors and their hardware parts. You can contact a garage door repair company to advise you with any questions or problems you may have regarding your garage door, from a garage door spring repair to a garage door panel replacement. Furthermore, here are some garage door maintenance tips that you can follow.
Examine the Garage Door
Inspecting the garage door and its hardware parts will help you troubleshoot if there are unnoticeable defects that must be repaired. Examine the parts twice or thrice a year just to be sure that your garage door is in perfect condition. Here is a list of the parts you should look into:
- Test the Garage Door Balance – manually open your garage door by pressing the emergency release and turning off the opener. Then carefully lift the door until halfway. The garage door is balanced if it stays still in the middle but if it went otherwise, there must be a problem with the tracks.
- Listen for unusual loud noise – operate your garage door with the opener and listen if you hear a weird noise such as screeching or grumbling. If there are signs of loud noise, check the insides of the door for debris or worn out springsÂ
- Look over the tracks and other hardware parts – Check the mechanical parts of the garage door and see if there are signs of rust, wearing, or dents. Determine if it can be resolved by a minor repair and cleaning, or you will have to call a garage door technician to do the fixtures. Â
Clean your Garage Door Regularly
Wash your garage door regularly to improve its overall appearance. Use a detergent or an all-purpose cleaner to remove the stains on the panels. Then use a brush with soft bristles to dust off the dirt on the corner and insides of the hardware parts. Remember to turn off the automatic opener and lower the garage door when cleaning it to avoid unwanted accidents.
After cleaning, you can also repaint the panels if there are permanent stains, scratches or dents on it. Choose the appropriate color according to your style so you won’t have to change it frequently.
Lubricate the Mechanical Parts
One of the best remedies to eliminate unnecessary frictions between the moving parts of the garage door is through Lubrication. The process of lubricating the moving hardware parts will improve the function of the door by allowing it to run smoothly. Plus, this part eliminates the loud noises coming from your garage door.
Here is the three-step process on how to lubricate garage door parts:
- Use the appropriate product in lubricating. The proper choice would be the ones recommended by garage door experts or you may also use the popular WD-40.
- Apply or pour an ample amount of lubricant on your non-absorbent cloth
- Wipe the oil on the hardware parts and make sure that you clean the parts first before applying the lubricant.
Finally, besides keeping your garage door maintained, it is important to secure your house. Therefore, it is worth mentioning to have a professional Locksmith service on call that you can trust with your home.
