5 Garage Door Maintenance Tasks

Regular maintenance on your garage door will help keep it working properly.There are many minor maintenance tasks that you can perform yourself.If you do not wish to perform these tasks yourself or are not comfortable performing the maintenance, contact a professional service technician.

Inspect the garage door

Inspect the springs, cables, rollers, pulleys, hinges and mounting hardware for indications of wear or damage.Open and close the door and listen for loud squeaking or unusual noises which might be indicators of an issue.

Check the alignment, balance and springs

Garage doors are heavy and are balanced with springs to offset the weight.This task is to check that the balance and alignment is correct.If you have an automatic opener, close the door and temporarily disengage the opener system; this is usually done by pulling a handle on the opener track.Once the opener is disengaged, open the door manually to about halfway open.Slowly release the door – it should remain open at the point where you release it.If the door does not open smoothly and with little resistance when you open it manually, or does not stay open when you release it, you may need a professional service technician to adjust the balance or alignment.Reengage the opener by pulling the handle on the track towards the motor.

Check the automatic opener photo eye

If your door has an automatic opener, it should be equipped with a photo eye that prevents the door from closing if something is blocking the path.This test is to verify that this safety feature is working properly.The photo eye is mounted near the floor on both sides of the door opening, and is aligned so that there is a direct path from one side to the other. With the door open, place an object so that it blocks the path between the photo eyes, and then attempt to close the door.The door should not close.Then remove the object that is blocking the path and close the door.While the door is closing, wave something in front of the photo eye to interrupt the path.The door should immediately stop and reverse to fully open.If this safety feature is not working properly, contact a repair technician for service.

Check the opener automatic reversing

If your door has an automatic opener, it should be equipped with a safety mechanism to automatically reverse when an object is detected that blocks the closing of the door.To test that this is working properly, start the door closing and then attempt to manually stop the door by holding the bottom of the door about halfway down, without blocking the photo eye at the bottom of the door.When the door senses resistance to closing, it should automatically reverse and open fully.If it does not reverse, contact a repair technician to correct the issue.

Lubricate the moving parts

Lubricating the moving parts on your door will extend the life of those parts and will help keep your door opening smoothly and quietly. Lubrication should be about every six months.Use a spray lubricant designed for garage doors; this should be a non-silicon-based lubricant.Lubricate the springs and the moving parts such as the hinges and bearings.If your door has nylon rollers, be careful that the lubricant won't end up on the nylon rollers.Do not lubricate the roller track as this can lead to the door slipping in the track. Clean the track with a brake cleaner and a rag.