Hello. I’m Maria Jardine. I’d love to talk to my readers about garage door maintenance and repairs. When you take the time to keep your garage doors in great condition, you can reduce your costs over the life of the doors. Well-maintained garage doors retain their easy movement and attractive appearance for years longer than ones that do not receive the proper level of care. On this site, I will teach you all the maintenance and repair techniques needed to keep your garage doors in phenomenal condition. Come by often to learn all you can about maintaining your garage doors.
Of all the things in your home that need maintenance, your garage door and its components may occasionally fall by the wayside. Making sure your doors open and close is important for the safety and security of your home, so to make sure they last as long as possible, here are three maintenance steps to make sure are on your garage door services checklist.
Clean and Lubricate
As part of basic maintenance, you should make sure that some of the moving parts of your garage system are both clean and properly lubricated. Start by checking the tracks your doors' rollers move inside and clean out any dirt or debris inside. While you're at it, make sure all the rollers are moving smoothly; if any seem stuck or don't move easily, see if lubricating them helps. If not, they may need to be replaced.
Next, lubricate moving parts like torsion springs and door hinges. You don't have to use much, but it's important to make sure these parts especially move smoothly. You can also lubricate the door track, but it's rarely a necessity. When lubricating, use grease instead of oil, and only grease moving parts, not things like your track. Lubricating the track can cause dust and dirt to stick, making it harder for your door to move.
Assess The System
There are many things to keep track of when it comes to your garage doors, but keeping up with everything is well worth the effort. During maintenance, a technician should look over both moving and non-moving parts to check for damage, wear, rust, or signs of deterioration. Here are several things to have checked:
It's important to have a professional look at some of your parts, such as the springs and motor, as trying to inspect parts with lots of tension can cause serious injury. Having a top-to-bottom inspection of your garage door system can help you catch problems early before they get worse.
Inspect Motor and Motor Settings
As one of the most important parts of your garage door system, the motor itself should be inspected whenever you have maintenance done. First, the motor should be able to open and close your door smoothly and without any issues or sounds like grinding or banging. The gear that moves the chain can wear down over time, especially if the gear is plastic, and it can eventually lose its grip on the chain. Making this part of your maintenance ensures you'll spot a problem like this before it gets dangerous or before you can no longer open the garage door.
While you're at it, you should also make sure the travel limit settings are correct. This dictates how far the garage door needs to travel before it needs to stop when opening or closing, and will also ensure the door will immediately reverse if it hits something it's not supposed to. If it's not set far enough, the door will stop moving before it touches the ground; if set too far, it will hit the ground hard and reverse instead. An incorrect setting can wear down your garage's motor and damage the door quickly, as well as potentially cause injury, so always make sure these settings are always tuned.
Share19 November 2019
