Low temperatures and frequent precipitation cause your door’s metal parts to rust and seize up, which can lead your door to malfunction. The springs that keep your door opening and closing also become more brittle and can snap more easily. Plus, the lubricant that allows your door to move smoothly along its tracks becomes thicker and more viscous in colder weather, which can make it difficult for the door to open and close.
Some common garage door problems resulting from winter temperatures that we see include broken springs or cables, cracked rollers, bent or misaligned tracks, imbalanced door weight, corroded metal hardware, and interference with the auto-reverse safety features. Wood garage doors also tend to contract in the cold and absorb extra moisture, which can cause them to crack, splinter, or warp.
To keep winter from wreaking havoc on your garage door, take the time to perform some basic maintenance before the cold weather hits. Here are a few steps you should take:
Do a visual inspection of your garage door
Standing inside your garage with the door closed, inspect your door’s springs, cables, rollers, pulleys and mounting hardware for signs of wear or damage. If something doesn’t look quite right—or if you’ve been hearing strange noises when the door opens and closes—you should call in a professional to look it over.
Clean and lubricate your door’s moving parts
It’s important to lubricate the metal parts of your garage door at least once a year to prevent rust and wear from interfering with its performance. Wipe away any dirt or debris that has built up in the tracks and apply a silicone-based lubricant designed for use on garage doors to the axles, rails, springs rollers and hinges. If you have a chain- or screw-drive opener, lubricate its metal parts as well.
Check your door’s weather sealant
Most garage doors have weather stripping along the bottom and sides to help with insulation and keep water and debris from getting into your garage. If you notice that the sealant is cracked or broken, contact Midlothian Garage Doors to have it replaced before winter.
Schedule a tune-up with a technician
At Midlothian Garage Doors, we recommend scheduling an inspection with a garage door professional once a year to make sure there are no major problems. The best time for these tune-ups is late fall so that your door will be in top shape for winter. In addition to performing planned maintenance and safety inspections, our technicians perform all kinds of repairs, from sensor alignments and broken spring replacements to complete garage door replacements. Give us a call today!
