When you think of maintaining your house, you probably think of painting your shutters or cleaning your gutters. Chances are, you don’t think about your garage door. While the quality and appearance of your garage door plays a significant role in your home’s general curb appeal, it is often the most neglected area. Already thinking of how you’re going to spend your next Saturday? Here are 10 tips for maintaining your garage door.
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Check for Functionality
This step is the easiest, and you can practice it every single time you use your garage door. Upon opening and closing your garage door, make sure nothing unusual happens. Make sure the door moves in a smooth, perfectly symmetrical motion without any jerking. Also, make sure there are no alarming sounds. Your garage door should have very little noise, and it shouldn’t have any grinding, scraping, or other concerning sounds.
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Check Your Door’s Balance
This is another step you can do without a professional. By making sure your garage door is correctly balanced, you can prevent any of the concerning sounds or jerking motions mentioned in the first step. Not sure how to do it? You can find a step by step tutorial here.
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Clean Your Doors
You wash your car. You wash your sidewalks, and you wash your siding. But when was the last time you washed your garage doors? HGTV expresses the importance of cleaning your garage doors in order to improve their life spans. Simply clean the outside of your doors with a gentle cleaner and water, and make sure no debris is lodged in the tracks.
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Lubricate
Now since your doors are clean and working properly, take 10 minutes to apply a proper lubricant to keep it working smoothly. You only need to do this about once a year.
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Check Your Parts
While you’re lubricating and cleaning everything, make sure all the parts are in good condition. Inspect your rollers, cables, and even your weather-stripping. By checking all these parts regularly, you can, if any are not in good condition, replace them before they ruin your door.
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Groom Your Door
Other than being unsightly, rust and cracks can be detrimental to your garage door’s health. Check for any rust and caulk any cracks you find. Scrape any peeling paint away, too. While you’re at it, go ahead and paint the inside and outside of your door to help fight elemental damage.
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Inspect the Safety Feature
The last thing you want is your garage door to come down when it shouldn’t. Make sure both safety features – mechanical and photocell – are working properly by placing a brick under your door. The door should revert upwards once it touches the brick.
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Adjust Sensitivity
If your door didn’t revert upwards in the last step, you’ll need to adjust your sensitivity Refer to your owner’s manual. Time and the environment can affect your settings, so it’s good to check them often.
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Tighten the Hardware
The garage is one of the most used devices in your home. The consequence of all that use, however, is loosened parts. Using a socket wrench, take a few minutes to tighten everything from simple screws to your roller brackets.
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Make it a Routine
Make sure to regularly maintain your garage. While some things – like lubricating – are only needed once a year, other things – like washing – should become a regular part of your schedule. This will help boost your curb appeal and increase your garage door’s lifespan.
Looking for a garage door service company who will come out and provide all the maintenance for your door? Give us a call right here at Straight Up Garage, where we offer maintenance and repair services.
