8 tips you can use to properly maintain your garage door
Did you know that the garage door is the most commonly used thing in your home? If you calculate you will soon see that garage door is used every single day, several times per day. This means that eventually, the garage door system may encounter some issues and problems. In order to prevent them before they occur you will have to perform regular inspections, once a month and to lubricate moving parts during the inspection. By using these simple tips explained below you will prolong the lifespan of your garage door and make it usable for a longer period of time. You won’t have to repair the garage door and you won’t have to replace it. All of this suggests that the 8 tips mentioned below are more than just important.
Perform visual inspection
Probably the easiest thing you will have to do ever. Simply look at the garage door and all the components. Check the springs, bolts, screws, gears and the plugs. All of these items need to be in perfect order to work properly. In some cases, you will see that a single component is damaged or it doesn’t work properly. If the cause for that is a loose bolt, you can fix it within seconds.
Before you call a professional and hire him to help you fix the problem, you should always perform a visual inspection. In 90% of cases, you can fix the problem by yourself.
Check garage door opener once a month
Systems that use garage door openers are more appealing and more complicated. This suggests that you need to control and check the system as well. Ideally, you will remove the garage door opener and check the gears or pulleys.
If everything looks fine, try to open and close the garage door without the help of a garage door opener. If you can complete these two tasks easily, your system will work great and there won’t be any issues. If you must use an extreme amount of force to open or close the garage door, servicing and alignment must be done.
While performing this type of check, lubricate and apply grease to the pulleys or chain gears of the garage door opener. It is a part of regular maintenance and something that will preserve your system.
Testing and fixing photo eye or laser beam sensors
Your garage door should have a photo eye or sensor-based system that will detect any objects, people, children and animals and stop the closing process when anything of these is detected. This system uses sensors that send a laser beam and measure its path. If the path is affected, there is an object and the system will be activated. These systems are known to fail due to dirt, damaged sensors or etc.
Wipe the sensors using a dry piece of cloth and place an object near the door, so it crosses the laser path. If the system is working, the garage door should start closing and stop. If not, your sensors are probably damaged or they are not aligned. Make sure to consult the user manual and align them or even better, call a professional and let them do it instead of you. This system is mandatory for all garage doors and it should be fixed as soon as possible.
Test automatic reversal system
This system is used to detect an obstacle under the door and to stoop the closing process. You will test the system by placing an object under the door, where it should be closed. Then close the garage door. You will see that the garage door will start closing, reach the object and then open instead of closing. The system is working properly and you can move to the next step.
If the system doesn’t work, hire a professional. Systems of this kind are extremely complex and they need to be adjusted by trained personnel. If you have a garage door that doesn’t have this safety feature, replace them with one that does.
Check and replace old batteries
New garage door openers have advanced batteries that will allow for the system to operate even when there is no electricity. But, in some cases, it happens that the system gets jammed after a power outage. When this happens the battery won’t charge and the system won’t work. Simply disconnect and reconnect the battery and all should be fine.
The battery should have a specific voltage which varies and depends on each system. That voltage must be displayed on the case of the battery. Use a multimeter to measure it and if the value is too low, replace the battery. These batteries can last between 2 and 5 years.
Help your children understand the basics of garage door opener
Children love using garage door openers. It is fun and it is an appealing game for them. But it isn’t a game and they can end up injured if you are not careful. To make sure this won’t happen, tell them that a garage door opener is a dangerous thing and not to operate it without your supervision. This specifically applies to toddlers between 3 and 8 years of age.
Those of you who have keypads make sure to don’t give the code to your children. Without the code, they won’t be able to use the garage door and you will be positive that they are safe and sound at all times.
Lubricate the moving parts once per month
Ideally, you will lubricate all moving parts using grease once a month. If you don’t have time or you forget, lubricate the moving parts once in 6 months. This is mandatory and you need to consider is as your top priority. Liquid Wrench is a product specially made for this purpose and it offers the best results over the longest period of time.
Checking the balance of the garage door
Your garage door should have a weight between 7 and 12 pounds. If the weight is higher than that, the garage door is not properly balanced. This adds stress to the entire system and you will have to sort it out as soon as possible. Using the system with this issue will damage the garage door opener mechanism and you will have to replace it soon.
Additional tips you will use
Here are a few additional tips we have developed for you. They should be used alongside the ones mentioned above and you will get the best system that can be used for the longest period of time using these simple tips.
- Make sure that your car is parked within sufficient distance at all times in order to prevent possible damages to the garage door.
- Always make sure that the garage door is opened and closed properly before moving on.
- Keep in mind that touch-based systems are more sensitive and they should be used with a lot of care.
- Different systems require different types of maintenance at different intervals. Check your user manual to get the precise answer when the system has to be checked and maintained.
Conclusion
These tips are obtained by professionals and they are designed for all kinds of garage doors and garage door openers. You should use all of them in order to make sure your system is working properly and it stays working like that as long as possible. See more advice at our repair and maintenance section here.
