Your garage door is one of the largest moving objects or pieces of equipment in your home, and just as your other home appliances need maintenance, your garage door needs to be properly maintained to keep it working as it should throughout the year.
The start of summer is a perfect time to implement these preventative maintenance tips, as days are longer and the weather is mild. Consult this handy guide for a comprehensive look at summer garage door maintenance and how to keep your door looking and functioning like new.
Table of Contents
- Inspect Your Garage Door for Damage
- Lubricate the Door’s Moving Parts
- Clean Your Garage Door and Its Tracks
- Remove Rust on Metal Surfaces
- Check Your Door’s Safety Features
- Add Insulation to Your Garage Door
- Check the Weather Stripping
- Summer Garage Door Opener Maintenance Tips
- Should You Do Garage Door Repairs Yourself?
1. Inspect Your Garage Door for Damage
The first step in good garage door maintenance is giving it a thorough inspection. Carefully look around for signs of excessive wear, damage or rust. The more you do this, the more likely you’ll notice when something doesn’t look right.
Follow this step-by-step system to ensure you’ve inspected all essential mechanical parts of your garage door:
- Examine the mounting hardware, including rollers, hinges and tracks.
- Survey the torsion or extension springs above or beside the garage entrance.
- Look for any frayed, worn or broken lifting cables that need replacing.
- Watch the door as it opens and closes to check its balance and alignment.
- Assess the garage door panels for cracks, dents or warping.
2. Lubricate the Door’s Moving Parts
Lubricate the springs, rollers and all the hinges when the door is down and disconnected from the opener. Be sure only to use a garage door lubricant recommended by experts in the industry — usually silicone or lithium sprays — and avoid using common household degreasers. Lubricating your garage door’s rollers and hinges at least twice annually is a good practice to keep your door running smoothly and quietly.
3. Clean Your Garage Door and Its Tracks
Washing your garage door keeps it looking nice and working well. You may also uncover some wear and tear that needs attention. Use water, a few cloths or gentle scrubbers and a mild detergent like dish soap or carwash soap to remove any built-up dirt on both sides of the door.
Can You Use a Pressure Washer to Clean Your Garage Door?
If dirt is caked on the exterior of your door, you could use a garden hose on full pressure to loosen it and clear it away. Pressure washers can be useful, too, although they could damage aging garage doors made of thinner material. Discuss pressure washing with a reputable garage door installer before committing to it so your door stays in good condition.
You should also ensure no objects, fibers or debris are stuck in the garage door’s tracks. Obstructions in the tracks could prevent your door from properly opening and closing or compromise its balance. Clear cobwebs and sediment from the mounting hardware using a feather duster, and wipe them down with a dry microfiber rag to clear any dust buildup.
4. Remove Rust on Metal Surfaces
For fixing rusted metal features like hinges and springs, it’s important to reach out to a professional. Technicians will gauge whether the mechanisms are safe to use in their current state and will remove rust in hard-to-reach places with a trained, experienced hand. You can, however, treat rust on the outer panels of your steel garage door yourself.
Removing rust on steel garage doors is quick and easy with the right tools and techniques. If you’ve decided to remove the rust yourself, get some sandpaper between 120 and 400 grit, sand the rusted area until no rust remains, and then apply rust converter spray. Be sure to sweep up any debris from your sanding session.
Can You Prevent Your Garage Door From Rusting?
Other than applying a rust converter spray, you could apply a primer after you’ve sanded the metal and then paint over it with exterior-grade paint. You can even use exterior latex paint on your whole door to protect your door from future rust problems, although it may need a touch-up after a year or so. Heavily rusted steel doors may have structural damage, though, so look into replacing the garage door instead.
5. Check Your Door’s Safety Features
It’s important to check the safety features of your garage door regularly. To test your door’s auto-reverse mechanism, all you have to do is open the door using your remote or the wall control unit, place an object in the way of the door and then close it. The garage door should stop and reverse itself as soon as it comes into contact with the obstacle.
If the sensors don’t detect the obstruction, they may be dirty, faulty or out of alignment. Give both sensors a gentle wipe with a cloth to remove any dust, cobwebs or debris, and ensure the lights aren’t flickering, indicating that they’re misaligned. If you’ve properly realigned your photo eyes and the door still doesn’t detect the obstruction, contact a professional to repair the safety sensors.
6. Add Insulation to Your Garage Door
Insulated garage doors regulate the ambient temperature in your garage so it’s more comfortable. This temperature regulation can save you money on energy and keep you and your family more comfortable all year long. If you want to upgrade your garage door’s insulation, reach out to a dealer about advanced insulation options.
7. Check the Weather Stripping
The weather seal at the bottom of your garage door, known as weather stripping, keeps out drafts, moisture, dust and even insects looking for a warm, dry place to settle. Vinyl is the industry standard material for top-quality weather stripping because of its durability and flexibility. All weather seals eventually need to be replaced, so inspect the vinyl for any cracks, tears or fraying and feel for any drafts that might be coming through the bottom of your garage door.
Summer Garage Door Opener Maintenance Tips
While maintaining the remote control of your garage door opener is as easy as replacing the batteries when they run out, keeping the garage door opener system in good condition requires significant know-how. Issues you could have with your opener include:
- A slack drive chain or belt
- Worn drive sprockets
- Faulty limit screws or buttons
While you could readjust the limit settings by consulting your garage door manual and using some trial and error, other opener issues like worn drive sprockets should be handled by trained technicians. Troubleshoot your opener quirks with our handy how-to guide, or reach out for servicing.
Should You Do Garage Door Repairs Yourself?
If anything appears broken and your garage door isn’t working properly, contact a professional for safe repair. Some elements, like torsion and extension springs, for example, store a lot of energy, and trained experts with the right equipment should be the only ones handling them if they’re faulty.
Schedule Garage Door Repairs and Replacements With Banko Overhead Doors
These are some of the maintenance tasks that should be performed every so often, from every year to every few years. Parts should be lubricated, repaired and sometimes replaced. Garage doors have many moving parts that can be dangerous if tampered with incorrectly, so we always recommend consulting a trusted professional when your garage door isn’t performing as it should.
At Banko Overhead Doors, we have over thirty years of experience serving the West Tampa Bay area and surrounding communities. Reach out and schedule your repair today to fortify your garage against the rainy Florida summers today.
Additional Resources on Garage Door Repairs and Maintenance:
- Garage Door Maintenance Checklist
- Out Top Garage Door Maintenance Tips
- 5 Reasons Your Garage Door Isn’t Working
- Common Garage Door Issues
