A garage door, regardless of the type or material, requires preventive maintenance to increase their lifespan.
Also, they consist of a lot of moving parts, all of which are subject to friction and vibrations.
All these contribute to the wear and tear, which then results in creaking noises and inefficiency on your garage door.
So, if you own a garage door, and it has been a while since you had some maintenance, what can you do?
What steps can you take to improve the performance of your garage door?
Which areas do you focus on, where can you effectively maintain, and what are the no-go zones?
Below are some tips on some of the materials and practices you can exercise to maintain high efficiency on your garage door:
Lubricate your garage door
A garage door contains a lot of moving parts. These include the hinges, springs, rollers, and the track.
Constant movement will cause these parts to wear out, and in time, start producing some noise.
So, how do you prevent the wearing out while maintaining a quieter garage door? The solution is to lubricate.
When using a lubricant, make sure you avoid the type that freezes up and leaves smudges on your door.
So, when you are out there buying lubricants, you can try some of the lubricants voted the best in the market, such as WD-40 white lithium grease spray, or the WD-40 Specialists water-resistant silicone lubricants.
Tighten the hardware
Vibrations on your garage door are bound to loosen some screws and nuts here and there.
These loose parts could lead to a damaged garage door tracks, which are expensive and tedious to replace.
So, when you notice some loose parts on your garage door, either the track, the brackets holding the tracks in place, or even the fasteners, you need to take action.
To tighten the screws on your garage door, you could use a socket wrench of the appropriate size to tighten them.
A loose garage door risks falling and injuring someone or even your car.
So, you do not want to have a loose garage door in your home.
Clear out the roller tracks
Roller tracks on your garage door face the worst of all weather conditions.
Also, they come into contact with soil, which could cause some severe problems.
Above all, when you apply your lubricant, when exposed to heat, they dry up and leave smudges on the tracks.
The debris and soil on the track could result in your garage door getting stuck while opening or closing. So, how do you clean your garage door without denting it?
If possible, you can clean the tracks with some warm water and soap.
Once you remove all the dirt, dry the grooves, and apply a fresh coat of lubricant to prevent corrosion and rusting.
Clean and paint the door
The impact of weather on the garage door is evident, especially in regions where the seasons change.
So, in the summer, the heat causes your garage door to fade, while during winter, you notice it rusting or rotting.
If you take no action, then you risk losing the whole door.
According to professional advice, cleaning the door and applying a fresh coat of paint goes a long way in maintaining your garage door.
Make sure you sand, prime, and paint along all edges before installing the weatherstrip.
Replace or repair your weatherstripping
The weatherstripping material at the bottom of your garage door keeps away the cold, water, dirt, and debris from getting into your garage.
However, since that is where your vehicle goes through every time it leaves or enters the garage, it is bound to break.
So, you start noticing the AC work for longer hours, and a lot of dirt when cleaning the garage.
As advised by experts, you need to check the condition of the weatherstripping material twice in a year.
If you notice the weatherstripping on the sides wearing out, loosening, or even damaged, then you need to fasten it in place or replace it as soon as possible.
Finally, you can inspect the auto-reverse features
Every garage door installed has some safety features that prevent it from crashing onto an object on its pathway.
These are the auto-reverse features.
However, depending on their position, they could accumulate dirt, which then lowers their efficiency, putting your family and property at risk.
However, as part of maintaining your garage door, you can wipe off the lenses, and tighten their electrical connection to ensure proper functionality.