Your garage door is probably the largest moving object in your entire house. It is used every day and in all seasons. Garage door maintenance is often overlooked, but twice-a-year seasonal inspection and maintenance should be part of your routine. every homeowner should conduct regular basic inspection and maintenance to spot problems before they become serious. While major repairs should be left to the experts, such a spring replacements. The following maintenance tasks should be performed regularly by each homeowner

 

1. Lubricate the Moving Parts

Keep your garage door parts greased up if you want to reduce any noise issues and prolong their useful lives. Properly lubricating the rollers and other moving parts can significantly reduce the stress on the door opener. If any rollers or hinges seem stuck, spray them with a penetrating solution, like WD-40, then wipe them clean and apply grease.

Twice a year, spray some lubricant on the overhead springs, and use white lithium grease on the opener’s screw or chain. Remember not use lubricant on a belt-drive opener.

 

2. Tighten the Hardware

Because the typical garage door moves up and down many hundreds of times each year, the motion and vibration can loosen up the door and track hardware. Check out the brackets holding the door tracks to the wall and ceiling as well as the fasteners anchoring the garage door opener unit to the framing. Use a socket wrench to tighten up any loose bolts you find.

 

3. Clear the Tracks

Inspect the tracks on both sides of the door to make sure they are free of debris and rust. You can also use a level to make sure the tracks are perfectly vertical along their vertical sections. You can make small adjustments yourself, but major track adjustments are a job for a professional technician.

 

4. Check the Cables and Pulleys

Inspect the lift cables and pulleys that attach to the bottom roller brackets on the door. These provide the connection between the springs and the door to help lift and lower the door safely. Garage doors have one of two different types of springs: Extension springs Extension springs are long, skinny springs that run alongside the horizontal (overhead) portion of each door track. Torsion springs are mounted to a metal rod above the door opening. Both types use cables to lift the door.

Most experts advise that cables and springs should not be touched by homeowners since these high-tension parts can be dangerous. If you spot any broken strands or other signs of wear or damage on the cables, call in a service person for assistance.

 

5. Inspect and Replace the Rollers

The rollers along the edge of the garage door, whether nylon or steel, should be inspected twice a year and replaced every five years, and even more often if you use the door many times a day.

During your inspection, if you find rollers that are cracked or worn, replace them as soon as possible. Except for the ones attached to the cables, rollers can be re-installed and removed by removing the brackets holding the rollers.

 

6. Test the Door Balance

If your garage door is not properly balanced, the garage door opener will have to work harder, and it won’t last as long. The door should be so well balanced by its springs that only a few pounds of force are necessary to lift it. Test this by pulling the release handle on the automatic opener, then manually lift the door so it is about halfway open. The door should remain in place without your help. If it doesn’t, the door is improperly balanced or the springs are growing old and worn. Call a professional for help with springs.

 

7. Repair or Replace the Weather Spring

The rubber weather strip seal on the bottom of your door helps keep out the dust and dirt. Inspect it once in six months to make sure it is in good shape.

If the weather stripping has loose spots or is cracked, reattach it or replace the entire length right away. Garage door weather stripping is sold in large rolls at the hardware store. Just cut to size and fit into the bottom of the door.

 

8. Clean and Paint the Door

If the door is steel, look for rust spots that should be sanded, primed, and painted. Fiberglass doors can be washed with an all-purpose cleaner. Pay particular attention to wood doors, since warping and water damage are common. Remove chipped and peeling paint, then sand and repaint. If you have a wooden door that does not have weatherstripping along the bottom, make sure this bottom edge is well sealed or painted, then install a weatherstrip.

 

9. Test the Auto-Reverse Features

Automatic garage door openers have an auto-reverse feature designed to detect resistance and to reverse the movement of the door if it hits a person or an object before reaching the ground. This safety feature works in two ways – mechanical and photocells. You can test the mechanical feature by placing a wooden board on the ground in the path of the door. As soon as the door touches the board, it should reverse direction and go back up again.

You can test the photoelectric system with beams at each side by starting the door downward and passing your leg in the door’s path. Your door should reverse and head upwards.

Consult the instruction manual for adjusting the auto reverse function. In case your opener is very old, it may lack the basic feature – and so it might be time you buy a new garage door opener.