How to Avoid Damaging Your Garage Door – The overhead door is usually the first and last thing a person opens when leaving and entering the house.
Because of the regular wear-and-tear of these mechanical moving parts, it is only natural that some damages will be incurred.
The overhead door also provides homes security from intruders, additional aesthetic, and increased overall value to the property.
Hence, it is essential to know how to make these overhead doors last for as long as possible because repairs for premature wear-and-tear can always get expensive, really inconvenient, and, when these things go haywire, it becomes very hazardous to one’s safety.
Here are some preventive maintenance tips and tricks to avoid subjecting one’s overhead doors to unnecessary damage.
Clean Before Lubricating
Before lubricating the moving parts, make sure it is free from dust and other contaminants so as to not integrate it with the lubricant.
Make sure to clean the tracks from obvious dirt and grime.
The tracks are where the rollers glide on while the door opens or closes.
It isn’t necessary to lubricate the tracks, but it is crucial to make sure it is clean.
Using non-abrasive cleaners will help keep it free from rust and corrosion.
Moving Parts Should Be Lubricated
A noisy garage door can be a sign that the parts are not adequately lubricated.
A garage door that is difficult to open or close might mean that it is also not properly lubricated.
This lack of lubrication might lead to severe damages to the door later on.
Make sure to use lithium-based grease for the moving parts.
Avoid using popular degreasers like the WD-40 because it might not be enough to lubricate it properly.
Avoid using oil-based lubricants, too, because they are a dirt and grime magnet, which won’t be suitable for the moving parts in the long run.
Ensure that the overhead door’s moving parts, like the hinges, springs, tracks, and rollers, are well-lubricated.
This procedure will prevent noises, grinding, rust, and metal-to-metal contact, which will ultimately prolong the overhead door’s life.
Doing this will make the garage door run smoothly every time.
Lubricate Hinges
Carefully lift the door manually and spray the lithium-based grease on each of the hinges.
Each hinge should be covered in grease.
This procedure will make the garage door open and close much smoother.
Lubricate Rollers
The rollers are the round parts with bearings inside it and are also responsible for making the overhead garage door open and close easily.
These rollers are attached to the hinges.
Difficulty in raising and lowering the overhead door is a symptom that indicates that the rollers are poorly lubricated.
Make sure that the rollers are free from dust before lubricating it.
Spray the lithium grease on each of the rollers.
The thin hose attached to the grease spray can be used for a more concentrated application.
Wipe any excess grease off of the rollers to avoid unbalanced doors.
Visual Inspection of the Garage Door
Ensuring that the overhead door is free from visual damages like small dents, rust, and paint chipping can prevent issues from getting worse in the future.
Different materials of overhead doors can mean different ways of taking care of it.
Dents in aluminum garage doors are relatively common because aluminum is much lighter than steel, so it is vital to ensure that it is free from dents.
To prevent the aluminum garage door from denting, use a parking guide when backing down the driveway to prevent the car from hitting the door.
Also, regularly coating it with wax will help prevent corrosion and rust.
Conversely, steel garage doors need to be inspected for rust spots.
Rust spots need to be treated as soon as possible because it will spread eventually.
To treat rust spots, they have to be sanded first, then primed, and lastly, painted to prevent any spreading.
Wooden garage doors, on the other hand, needed to be taken care of differently.
It may need to be treated for protection against exposure to external elements.
Contact an authorized distributor for professional wood treatment to avoid unnecessary problems.
Professional Preventative Maintenance
In case the garage doors are deemed too difficult to fix, professional garage door repair services are available for contact in Edmonton, Leduc, Spruce Grove, and Stony Plain.
