Garage door maintenance is essential for keeping your garage up and running. While most homeowners think of garage doors as hearty and tough, they still need some TLC. This week, we are exploring top tips for garage door maintenance. Read on to learn what those tips are and how you can implement them for your garage door.
Tip One: Sit Back And Observe
The sound and sight of how your garage door moves is actually very informative. It can tell you what parts are worn out or where the track is having issues. in short, treat this like an annual exam for a human. don’t just open and close the door once. Go through the process at least three times. The first time, focus on the overall movement of the door. Second time, listen carefully for any grating, whining, or creaking sounds. The final time observe the torsion spring.
Tip Two: Maintenance The Tracks
The tracks are white your garage door moves on. Unfortunately, it is fairly easy for tracks to develop small problems because they are used so often. Start by using a hand broom to remove debris such as leaves and pollen from the track. Don’t forget the base of the track by the floor of your garage. Make sure to remove any rust. Finally, lubricate the tracks. Do not use WD-40, instead, up for a silicone-based garage door lubricant.
Tip Three: Check The Problem Areas
The two most common components that cause issues in garage doors are the torsion spring and the photo eye sensors.
The torsion spring should still be coiled tightly, any stretching is bad. If there are gaps in the torsion spring, have a garage door professional replace it as soon as possible.
The photo eye sensors are the sensors at the bottom of the garage door that keep it from closing if something is in the way. If these are too sensitive, they may cause problems by continuously throwing the kill switch on garage door movement.
Tip Four: Replace The Weatherstripping
The weatherstripping is the rubber that goes along the bottom of your garage door. It helps keep water and debris out of your garage. The best time for Florida homeowners to check the weatherstripping is during hurricane season prep.
There’s a simple way to see if your weatherstripping needs replacing. Close the garage door and have someone stand outside with a bucket of water while you stand inside. have them splash the bucket of water along the bottom of the door to see if any gets through. If water can get through from this simple experiment alone, hurricane season could spell trouble. Considering how many people in Florida use them for storage, nobody wants to deal with a flooded garage.
