You probably use your garage door every day, but when was the last time you cleaned it? A garage door is just like any other part of your house – it needs to be cleaned and tuned-up to keep it safe and working properly. Here’s what you can do to make your garage door last longer and keep you and your family safe.
While you’re completing this list, make sure that you have unplugged your garage door opener, you’re wearing gloves, and you do not touch the lift cable or torsion spring. If you need help on the lift cable or torsion spring of the garage door, call a technician. Home warranty coverage will repair or replace the mechanical parts of garage door opener if it fails from normal wear and tear, but it does not cover the garage door.
First thing you should do when you’re tuning up your garage door is a visual inspection. Look over the roller tracks, rollers, and brackets. If there are any parts of the garage door that are spray painted red, or have warning labels, do not touch them. If you notice something wrong on the torsion spring or cable, call a certified garage door technician to help you. Garage door springs are under tremendous tension, and you could hurt yourself if you try to repair something. Leave it for the professionals.
Tighten the bolts on your garage door to ensure everything is secure on your garage door.
Since your garage door has moving parts, the hardware could become loose over time. Check to see if any of the nuts or bolts on the garage door and opener need to be tightened.
Make sure to check the rollers and roller tracks on your garage door.
Next, check the roller tracks and rollers themselves. If you see a buildup of dirt in the roller track, you can clean it out with brake cleaner (wear gloves!). If the rollers on the track are bent or broken, they should be replaced as soon as possible. If you notice a problem with the bottom roller, call a certified technician. The bottom roller is connected to the lift cable and can hurt you.
If your lift cable has any fraying, call a garage door specialist immediately.
Finally, check the lift cable for any fraying or broken strands. Once again, this cable is under a lot of tension. If you notice that it is breaking, call a technician who can help you replace it.
Next, lubricate the garage door springs
For this part, make sure you know what kind of garage door opener you have. You could have a screw-drive, belt drive or chain drive operated machine. A screw drive uses a large threaded rod to lower and raise the door. A chain drive looks a lot like a bike chain that pulls the door up and down. A belt drive is a steel reinforced belt that lowers and raises the door. Home warranty coverage covers all of these as long as they meet current safety standards.
If you have a screw drive or chain drive, you should lubricate the chain with a silicone-based lubricant. Do not lubricate the tracks or nylon rollers, as these can cause the door to slip.
The springs, hinges and bearings also need to be lubricated every 6 months. You can find a garage lubricant at your local repair supply store.
If your garage door opener ever stops working, call us at Midlothian Garage Doors and open a service request. We will send out a trained technician who can help you repair or replace your garage door opener. We are here to help!
