Your garage door helps keep your home and family safe. To ensure it can defend you for as many years as possible, here are our tips for ten ways to increase the lifespan of your garage door.
10 Ways to Increase Your Garage Door’s Lifespan
1. Regular Inspections
Once every month or two, watch your garage door as it completes a cycle of going up and down, keeping an eye out for anything odd. Is your garage door especially loud? Do you notice grinding or screeching noises? Does your garage door have a jerky or slow operation? These are all signs that you might have an issue with your garage door system. Solving these garage door problems quickly will help you increase the lifespan of your garage door and avoid sudden breaks.
2. Lubricate Moving Parts
Your garage door is made of many moving parts, including springs, cables, rollers, and bearings. These metal parts need regular lubrication to reduce wear, friction, and rust build-up. Lubrication also helps keep your moving parts free from dust and dirt, which can cause your garage door parts to grind together. We recommend using spray silicone lubricant once every 3-5 months to keep your garage door running smoothly and prevent sudden breaks.
3. Tighten Hinges and Bolts
Over time, the hinges and bolts that hold your garage door together can loosen from the frequent movements of the garage door. That’s why you should go through and tighten all your hinges and bolts every few months, ensuring that nothing is loose, missing, or out of place.
4. Clean Your Tracks
For your garage door to operate smoothly, you need clean, clear tracks for the garage door rollers to move through. To clean your garage door tracks, simply run a moist cloth along the surface to remove debris, dust, or dirt. You can do this with water and a simple detergent; there is no need for harsh chemical cleaners.
5. Check Safety Features
Because your garage door is the largest moving object in your home, it has safety features to ensure it doesn’t harm anyone or cause damage to your car. The sensors on either side of your door opening are the most essential garage door safety features. If anything moves in front of these sensors as your garage door operates, the door will automatically reverse so it doesn’t hit anything.
Check this safety feature by pressing the button to close your garage door and then waving a broom in front of your garage door sensors. The door should automatically reverse back into the upward position. If your overhead door continues to close, call a professional to fix this critical safety feature.
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6. Perform a Balance Test
Another vital part of the safe operation of your garage door is its balance. Garage doors function on a counterbalance system between the springs, cables, and opener to keep everything in place. If this system comes out of balance, it puts extra pressure on your garage door opener and may cause some garage door parts to wear out faster than others.
To test the balance of your garage door, disengage it from the opener and attempt to open it manually. Pull the door up to about chest level and release it. If your garage door falls several feet, you have an unbalanced garage door. Contact a professional to get your garage door back in shape.
7. Take Care of the Exterior
Garage door maintenance is about more than just the inside; you must also maintain your garage door exterior to give it a long lifespan. Every 8-12 months, give your garage door’s surface a good cleaning with a mild detergent and then rinse it off with the water hose. This prevents the elements from wearing away and discoloring your garage door. We recommend giving your garage door a fresh coat of paint every five years to boost your curb appeal.
8. Examine Weatherstripping
Weatherstripping along the bottom seal of your garage door keeps out the elements and helps you regulate your garage’s energy efficiency. However, the vinyl can crack and wear out over time, meaning it needs replacement. We recommend inspecting your weatherstripping every few months to see how it’s holding up.
9. No DIYs
As tempting as it may be to attempt garage door repairs on your own, we never recommend DIY for two crucial reasons. First, DIY garage door repair is very dangerous because your garage door parts hold tremendous tension to keep your door in place. If this tension is released incorrectly, it could harm you or a loved one. Second, if your garage door or parts are under warranty, attempting repairs will likely void the warranty, meaning the manufacturer won’t provide replacement parts if your repair goes wrong.
10. Schedule Annual Professional Maintenance
The best way to extend the lifespan of your garage door is by scheduling annual garage door maintenance with a professional garage door company. They will perform all the maintenance tips listed and more to ensure your garage door is in the best shape possible.
Ready to Book a Professional Garage Door Maintenance Appointment?
Do you want to do more to increase the lifespan of your garage door? Contact Mclaughlin’s Door Sales for a garage door maintenance appointment in the Miami Valley. We have years of experience helping local customers care for their overhead doors, and we’d love to assist you as well. Contact us to book an appointment!
