Maintaining Your Garage Door for Optimum Performance
Most homeowners neglect their garage door for as long as it works perfectly. However, this isn’t advisable, especially as it can cost a lot in repairs. A leading provider of garage door maintenance, installation, and repair services by Chicago Garage Door recommends regular inspection and maintenance to save costs and keep the garage door running.
Maintaining your garage door is good business, especially as it keeps your door running for longer, saves costs, and helps you get the most functionality out of it. Here are tips on maintaining your garage door for optimum performance.
1. Lubricate All Parts
Lubrication is an important factor for installations with moving parts. Your garage door has many moving parts, including the springs, rollers, pulleys, etc. These moving parts may often become dry, rub against each other, and give unusual noises.
Lubrication ensures that the friction is reduced to the barest minimum while eliminating resulting damages.
2. Test Battery-operated Components
Battery changes are essential to keeping your garage door and its ad-hoc components working perfectly. For example, the garage door remote may need occasional battery changes and inspections.
While battery changes and inspections are ideal for keeping the system running, you should also test the functionality of those components and contact your repair contractor if needed.
3. Replace Worn-out Parts
Your garage door is prone to wear and tear, depending on how good your maintenance plan is. A solid maintenance plan postpones the inevitable and saves costs, however, a bad one costs more money from recurrent fixes and replacements.
Inspect your garage door periodically for common functionality and performance issues. Contact your garage door repair technician to diagnose those issues and replace worn parts immediately.
4. Clean Your Garage Door
Garage door cleaning is one of the most overlooked maintenance practices. Occasional to regular garage door cleaning can prevent rust and other related problems.
Below is a guide on cleaning and maintaining your garage door based on type.
Cleaning and maintaining wooden/timber garage doors
Wooden or timber garage doors have the highest maintenance requirement. Although they make up for this in terms of insulation, aesthetics, and added value, cleaning should not be ignored.
Regular cleaning will keep dust, dirt, and grime away from your garage door and ensure it remains attractive. Use a mild soap and warm water mix to clean and hose it down generously after. Ensure the soap mix doesn’t stay on for too long during cleaning.
Cleaning should be done using a mild, non-abrasive, or microfiber cloth to prevent surface scratches.
Additional maintenance guidelines include;
Inspect regularly: Occasionally inspecting your wooden or timber garage door can reveal issues that may have been ignored or glossed over. Ensure that performance, functionality, or safety issues are addressed quickly to prevent extensive damages or accidents.
Treat garage door: Wooden garage doors are delicate and prone to damage. Regularly seal the waterproofing coating and treat the garage door to prevent attacks from wood-eating pests like termites.
Fill-up splits: Splits are a common occurrence with wooden garage doors. They are often a result of exposure to harsh weather conditions. Fill up splits as soon as possible to improve longevity and aesthetics.
Lubricate parts: Lubrication is essential to your garage door maintenance routine. Ensure that the moving parts are properly lubricated.
Cleaning and maintaining metal garage doors
Metal garage doors require proper maintenance for longevity and durability. While they do not require frequent attention, like wooden or timber garage doors, they should also be kept in good shape.
Cleaning your metal garage door is easy. Get a mild soap and warm water mix and apply to the surface using a non-abrasive washcloth. Hose down the metal door generously and ensure that all the soap is thoroughly washed off.
Pro Tip: Avoid bleach or cleansers when cleaning your metal door. If faced with a tough stain, always adopt the spot-cleaning method.
Additional maintenance guidelines include;
Listen to your metal garage door: Most of the common problems affecting your metal garage door can be picked up on by paying attention to the door. Listen carefully as the door opens and closes. You should also watch for its opening and closing speed.
Apply finishes: Older metal garage doors may lose their top treatment player or finishes. This can predispose the doors to rust and other problems. Prevent this by applying a top-layer finish or by repainting your metal door with treated paint.
5. Schedule Annual Maintenance
An annual maintenance plan can save you a lot of money in repairs and replacement. Contact the nearest top-rated garage door contractor for an annual maintenance plan. This will keep your garage door running smoothly and fix common problems that could leave you stranded.
How Long Is A Garage Door Supposed To Last?
Maintaining Your Garage Door for Optimum Performance