How Can I Tune Up My Garage Door?

Your garage door is, let’s face it, something you don’t necessarily really want to think about if you can avoid it. It works for us, day in and day out, flawlessly doing the job it was intended for, never breaking, never stopping.

Until it breaks. Or stops.

And when that happens, you’re in a world of problems, because you never realized how much you depended on it until it stopped working. Life comes to a halt as you wait for a repairman to come fix it or replace it.

However, with just a little bit of maintenance and tuning, you can keep your automatic garage door working and repair-free year after year after year. Just a few minutes of tune-up time a year is all you need.

Keep it clean.

Wash your garage door on a regular basis. Keeping it clean can keep it safe from a whole host of woes. A clean door proves less taxing on the system, plus it keeps the door free of foreign particles that can cause damage and make your system work inefficiently.

Inspect the hardware.

After unplugging the motor to prevent accidental star- up, go in and look at the hardware on your garage door. Are the tracks clean and free from any obstructions? Clean and lubricate the tracks, then check to make sure every piece of hardware is tightened properly. Garage doors naturally create a great deal of vibration in their daily use. These vibrations can easily cause the hardware on the system to gradually loosen. This loose hardware can become an easy source of malfunction. So be certain to check and tighten your hardware at least once a year.

Keep the mechanical parts humming.

A large portion of your garage door’s mechanism is made of simple mechanical parts which can be kept in top working order by regular simple maintenance. Chains and springs can be kept in shape with a simple yearly lubricating regimen.

The chain on the door can be lubricated using a white lithium spray-on lubricant. This type of spray can be found at most hardware or home stores. It’s designed as a protectant for your automatic garage door’s motor chain and it makes your door run quieter and makes the mechanism last longer.

Use a simple spray-on lubricant like WD-40 or Liquid Wrench every 3 months on your torsion springs. Provide a good solid coating to each spring and allow the excess to stay. This simple trick will stop corrosion and make your springs last much longer before they break!

And once a year, go ahead and replace the weather seal or weather stripping. This plastic seal at the bottom of the door helps keep the weather out, but wear on these pieces tends to happen quickly. Purchase a replacement seal for your model of garage door, slide the old one out. Clean the slot carefully, spray it with a silicone lubricant and slide the new seal in. This will keep your door looking good, help your performance by sealing out debris, and keep the weather and elements outside your home.