Tips For Homeowners To Maintain Their Garage Doors

Do you own a home that has a garage? Is your garage door something that you tend not to think about much? Although you may not give much thought to your garage door when it works, a non-functioning garage door can easily turn a good day into a bad one. Here are some signs that you may need to repair your garage door soon:

Your garage door opens reluctantly: Some garage door openers are lethargic, at best, when it comes to the speed at which they open your garage door. If you notice your garage door is starting to move even more slowly, it's time to inspect your garage door parts before your door completely refuses to open. The first thing that you should do is pull the emergency release cord for your garage door. This will disconnect the door from the opener, allowing you to open the door by hand. If the door is easy to open, the motor on your garage door opener may be failing and you should plan on replacing it as soon as possible.

If you have a hard time opening the door, there are other issues that need to be resolved. The torsion springs should be inspected by a professional and possibly replaced. Another possibility is that you or someone else accidentally hit the garage door just hard enough to warp the track a little, while leaving little to no visible damage. Again, a professional inspection will be able to tell you which garage door parts to replace.

You haven't lubricated your garage door recently: In order to slide smoothly, you should lubricate your spring coil every few months. Using a penetrating water-displacing spray lubricant will help to keep your garage door parts from rusting. The lubricant can also help to get rid of dust and debris that may have started to settle in your garage door. You should also check the owner's manual for your garage door opener to see what sort of lubrication schedule the manufacturer recommends. If you are supposed to oil the motor, make sure to use the proper lubricant on it. While a petroleum-based spray lubricant is fine for your spring coil, your motor manufacturer may recommend a silicone-based lubricant instead.

With preventative maintenance, your garage door should give you very little trouble. However, you may still want to consider keeping some spare garage door parts, in case something breaks unexpectedly. Talk with a garage door installation professional from a company like Overhead Door Of Akron about what sort of parts are best to keep on hand and which ones you can safely ignore for now.