5 Garage Door Maintenance Tips to Remember

Depending on the style, a new garage door costs as much as $3,000 to have installed. So, keeping on top of garage door maintenance is an ideal way to make yours last and help prevent a big surprise expense.

After all, you probably open and close it several times a day, meaning the wear and tear can really add up. Over time, this heavy usage wears down the cables, springs, and pulleys.

Thankfully, there are some easy ways to monitor your garage door and do small tune-ups to keep it in good working condition. Even better, you won’t have to spend much in the process either.

Read on to learn how to maintain a garage door with five simple garage door maintenance tips.

1. Inspect It Visually Often

An easy to way to check your garage door for problems is to watch and listen to it carefully as it comes up and goes down. If you hear squeaking, see any shakiness, or notice the parts don’t seem to work together well, this is a sign to service the garage door.

You should also look carefully at the moving parts. For example, look at the cables to make sure there’s no tear.

If you see some hardware like a screw or bolt that looks loose, tightening it is a good idea. It’s also a good idea to reach out to a garage door professional who can troubleshoot more complex issues.

2. Clean Your Garage Door

Keeping your garage door clean is a good way to reduce physical wear from junk that builds up on it. You’ll want to use dish soap, water, and a soft sponge – never anything rough – to gently clean the garage door of debris and dirt.

You’ll also want to remove any physical objects like bikes or gardening equipment that might mess with your garage door’s sensors and cause glitches or additional wear.

3. Check the Garage Door for Safety

Being such a huge moving object, your garage door can actually become a deadly object if the safety features don’t work.

Your garage door should have some feature that will keep it from going down if someone or something is walking under or near it. This is critical to prevent injury and serious accidents.

You’ll want to test this in a safe way, such as pulling a kid’s ball right under the door and trying to close the garage door. The garage door should stop and not continue to go down.

If not, it’s time to call in for some garage door opener maintenance and repair.

4. Keep the Garage Door Parts Lubricated

Over time, you may notice that your garage door becomes noisy or seems to not open and close smoothly.

Lubricating your garage door – including the rollers, track, and springs – is one of the best garage door maintenance tips to prevent such problems. You can purchase a can of lubricator from a hardware store or the company that sold you the garage door.

5. Keep the Garage Door Balanced

If you start noticing the garage door has a tilt to it, then it may be unbalanced. Not only is this a cosmetic issue, but it means it puts extra stress on the moving parts, likely making your garage door break down sooner.

To test for this problem, you’ll want to shut down your garage door opener and instead manually pull down the door partially. It the garage door falls down, this indicates a problem with your springs.

Rather than trying to fix this yourself, reach out to the professionals to have the weakened springs replaced.

Keep These Garage Door Maintenance Tips in Mind

If you follow these garage door maintenance tips, you should spot potential safety or functional issues before they become big problems. If your garage door seems unsafe to use, it’s best to avoid using it until you can arrange a repair.

You’ll also prolong the life of your garage door and prevent bugs with the sensors when you keep it maintained and not blocked with other objects.

Quick Guide for garage door maintenance

Best Ways to Do Maintenance on Your Garage Doors

1. Check your door for unusual sights and sounds.
2. Inspect your door’s balance.
3. Make sure nuts and bolts are tightened.
4. Lubricate the moving parts.
5. Review your door’s rollers.
6. Clear your tracks of debris.
7. Review your lift cables.
8. Test your safety features.

If you do think it’s time to replace your garage door, notice any of the warning signs mentioned or need to arrange a repair, reach out to us .