Four Care and Maintenance Tips for Your Garage Door

Posted by johnpreston on July 21st, 2016

The garage door is perhaps the largest moving part in your home. Like your main door, it is used multiple times of the day. And don’t you just hate it when you can’t open it at the most inopportune time, like in the morning just when you are in a rush to go to work?

It is thus important to take care of the garage door by performing regular preventive care and maintenance. There are several things that you can do to ensure that your garage door will be working smoothly for years to come:

1.   Inspect its hardware

Because the garage door often moves, there is the tendency for its hardware to loosen. As such, you should make it a habit to regularly inspect roller brackets and bolts that hold the rails. And if needed, tighten the nuts and bolts using a wrench.

2.   Replace weatherstripping

Inspect the rubber weather strip located on the bottom of the garage door. If it is cracked or brittle, then there’s a chance that cold air and moisture can seep through the cracks around the garage door. This can make your garage cold and your energy bills high during the winter. It can also mean that insects and critters will have an easier time getting through the garage door.

You can replace the weatherstripping of your door by buying one at home improvement stores.

3.   Lubricate moving parts

Greasing the garage door parts will make the garage door operate seamlessly for years. You won’t have to spend a lot of time for this. Just 10 minutes a year should be enough. Put white lithium grease on the chain or screw of the opener. A spray lubricant, which you can get from a St. Louis, MO Garage Door Repair specialist, will help in coating overhead springs.

4.   Test the door’s balance

You don’t really need to ask the help of a Washington, IL garage doors service or a O’Fallon garage door springs specialist to do this. Simply pull the opener release handle to disengage the opener from the door. Then lower the door about halfway through. You’ll know that the door is properly balanced if it can hold the halfway position without any assistance.

If the door rides back up, then there’s too much tension on the springs. If the door falls, then the tension needs to be increased. But you just can’t adjust the spring tension because it can be difficult. You’d rather have a garage door professional do it for you.

For more information please visit our website: www.metrodoorco.com