You rely on your garage door to operate properly day in and day out. When you push the garage door opener button, you expect the door to either open or close without any problems. Fortunately, most garage doors will operate reliably for years with only a little bit of simple maintenance. Here are a few tips to keep your garage door working great and avoiding costly garage door repairs.
Lubricate the hinges, rollers, and latches with a little bit of light oil. Make sure each roller and hinge moves freely. If any of the rollers or hinges are bound up, they should be replaced. Tighten any loose bolts or screws.
With the door in the closed position, disconnect the garage door opener and see if the door opens easily by hand. If not, the spring tension probably needs to be adjusted. Misadjusted springs will cause your garage door opener to work too hard and it will wear out prematurely. If the springs need to be adjusted, you should let a professional garage door service handle it. The springs are under a lot of pressure and can easily cause an injury if improperly handled.
If your opener is a chain or screw type system, lubricate the chain or screw according to the manufacturers specifications. If you no longer have the service manual, use a little light grease on the screw and light oil on the chain. Make sure to wipe off any residue before parking your car under it.
Check the weather stripping around the door and under the bottom edge. Replace any torn or loose weather stripping and make note of any worn areas that indicate where the door rubs against the frame. Adjust the track as needed to eliminate any binding or rubbing.
