Did you know that nearly two-thirds of all housing units in the US have a carport or a garage?
Some of us use our garages just as extra storage space, but if you use yours to house your car, then your garage door sees a lot of action.
All that action means that things can sometimes go wrong. The good news is that with a little garage door maintenance you can prevent a lot of garage door problems from turning into something worse.
Read on as we look at five tips for maintaining your garage door.
1. Tighten Brackets and Bolts
Even if you only open and close your garage door once per day, that still adds up to more than 700 uses in a year.
All that motion is going to impact the brackets and bolts that hold everything in place, and over time they may start to loosen.
A quick tightening of anything that needs it can ensure that your garage door continues to work smoothly.
2. Lubrication
Your garage door also has a lot of moving parts. That means it requires lubrication for smooth operation.
The trouble is that no lubricant will be effective forever. Once it stops being effective, you could start to damage your garage door. Make sure you keep an eye on any lubricated parts and add more lubricant as necessary.
Your ears will often be a good indicator of when more lubricant is needed!
3. Look for Damage
If you don’t hear anything out of place, try using your eyes.
A quick visual inspection should help you to notice any damage that your door may have suffered. If it’s just cosmetic damage, you may be happy to leave it. If it’s something more serious, you should try to repair it or better still call in a local service company to professionally repair it for you.
4. Test the Auto-Reverse
Motorized garage doors should come with an auto-reverse feature built-in.
This safety feature will automatically reverse the direction of the garage door if it comes into contact with an object when closing. If this feature isn’t working, you really don’t want to find out about it after you’ve put a dent in your car.
Test the auto-reverse feature by placing an object in the path of the door as it’s closing to ensure the system is still working correctly.
5. Check Your Weather Strip
Your garage is meant to protect your vehicle from the elements.
One of the most common places that weather can gain access to your garage is under the door. Make sure your weather strip is still in good condition; over time these can start to degrade which means they no longer give your garage full protection from the elements.
Garage Door Maintenance Shouldn’t Be Ignored
If you look after your garage door, your garage door will look after you. Ignoring garage door maintenance can lead to major problems that can be expensive to fix. Nipping problems in the bud before they turn too serious is always advisable.
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