6 Basic Garage Door Maintenance Tips All Homeowners Should Know-Guangzhou Advance Door

Any good homeowner knows the value of regular maintenance on different areas around the house.

Most people keep their lawn looking beautiful, have a schedule set with their pool guy, and maybe even hire a cleaning lady. However, there are some parts of a home that easily get overlooked.

When was the last time you had your garage door serviced? Do you know how well all the parts of your garage system are working?

Being proactive about your garage door maintenance can save you a significant amount of time and money. You don’t always have to call in the professionals, either.

Here are some things you can do on your own to make sure your garage door is running up to standard.

1. Give it a Regular Look Over

The first rule of any good maintenance is to make it a priority. If you get into a routine of checking your garage door frequently, you can get better at spending less time looking it over.

The key things to look for are any dents in the door, any strange noises it might be making, or signs of wear and tear.

This goes for all parts of the system, not just the door itself. Look over the tracks and wires, and the inside of the door as well as the outside aesthetics.

2. Strengthen the Hardware

Your garage door is vulnerable to dents and scratches.

This can be something as minor as a piece of debris hitting it in a storm, or a run-in with your teenage driver. Take time to notice if there are any dents appearing on the inner or outer surface.

Minor bumps here and there aren’t much to stress over. If you can, try to tap them out with the soft edge of a hammer.

Bigger dents will need attention. These can affect how the door slides in on the tracks and cause bigger issues you can’t handle alone.

As you’re looking for dents, check the seal as well.

The bottom of the garage door is what keeps out unwanted critters and what helps ventilate your space. It can lose strength over time, though. This is often due to harsh weather, like if your home gets heavy snowfall or tropical storms.

3. Keep Things Moving Smoothly

While dents can be easy to spot as you pull in to your driveway, some garage door maintenance will need more attention.

The tracks, for example, need a little extra love from time to time. This part of your system is working hard constantly. Help keep things moving along by applying special lubricant or oil.

Doing this every month or so can do wonders for the metal on the tracks.

When metal rubs against metal on a regular basis, it can weaken the strength of the garage door as a whole. This might cause some of your garage door to catch on itself as it works to open and close.

When you’re done with the tracks, lubricate the hinges, springs, and rollers, too.

All of these little details play a big role in the quality of your garage door. Giving them the care they deserve can prolong the life of your system.

4. Check Your Cables

Another good thing to check for is how well your cables are working.

Some cables can become lose or get damaged over time. Has your remote ever stopped working? Is your door connected to a light that won’t turn on anymore?

This is likely a cable issue. Preventing such malfunctions from happening is as easy as repairing one cable instead of the whole system.

Remember to use the proper safety measures while handling cables. The electrical side of your garage door is not for an amateur to handle. Unless you have experience working with cables and motors, like under the hood of a car or with a boat engine, save this step for the professionals.

Better to wait for someone to come out and take a look than to hurt yourself trying to rush the process.

It is also a possibility you can do more harm than good if you don’t know what you’re doing. Anytime you suspect a cable issue, pick up the phone and call the people who are trained to handle this.

5. Maintain the Balance

Everything in life requires balance – even your garage door maintenance. If your door is having trouble opening or closing correctly, it might be because something set it off-kilter.

This makes the opener work overtime as it tries to align everything. Over time, the whole system becomes vulnerable to doing double-duty lifting and pulling.

Some examples include roller malfunctions or broken lift cables. An unbalanced door means one side is working harder than the other. Don’t wait until something breaks to re-align your door.

Instead, keep things working as they should by leveling it all out. When your garage door is back to even, the rest of the system works much better.

6. Prevent Rust and Other Damage

As important as the cables, wires, and hardware are to your garage door, many parts of the system are made of metal.

One of the worst things that can damage metal is rust. A home in a humid climate is at risk for rust to ruin the rest of your garage door maintenance efforts. This also applies if you live in areas of heavy snowfall, or if dust collects easily around your home.

Proper ventilation can help fight rust on a day-to-day basis. Still, it’s important for you to make time to wipe everything down.

As you’re cleaning the metal, consider wiping the front of your garage door, too.

Waxing the outside of the door once or twice a year keeps it looking good as new. It can also help strengthen it against small dents, saving you more work in the future.

Call the Garage Door Maintenance Professionals

No matter how much time you spend on keeping your garage door working well, sometimes it’s worth to spend a little money on it, too.

Investing in routine garage door maintenance can take the pressure off your shoulders. It lets you focus on enjoying your home with your family rather than trying to fix everything in your free time.

Plus, you can trust the professionals to know exactly what your system needs. This is much better than trying to figure your garage door out on your own.

Contact us today to see exactly what your system needs.

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