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Since garage doors are being used almost every single day, they are more susceptible to wear and breakdown.
This being said, it is important to be more aware of your door’s hardware condition and to perform regular maintenance from time to time in order to make your door perform better,
This can be done by doing maintenance.
Maintenance is done to prevent the mechanism from totally breaking down and fixing it before the problem becomes worse.
If proper maintenance is done, the need for garage door repair services will lessen.
This will, in the long run, save you more money and time.
However, not everyone knows how to perform maintenance and what you need to do during such an activity.
With this in mind, we have compiled a list of things you can do to attend to your door’s day to day maintenance needs.
1. Be attentive
You need to be attentive to be able to tell what is wrong with your garage door.
Be more focused and serious in finding faults that may exist in your garage door set-up.
A lot of things can be identified just by being attentive and more observant with simple things.
Is the door moving slow? Is it unbalanced? Is it possible that some parts are worn out already?
Are the springs doing fine? What about the pulleys and the cables?
Be more critical when asking these kinds of questions to yourself.
Focus more on the components that wear faster over time.
2. Check the hardware
For something like the garage door which moves a lot, components can eventually wear out faster.
The screws can also loosen up due to all the movement and vibration.
But there is nothing you have to worry about as these things are perfectly expected to happen.
The purpose of checking the hardware during maintenance is to make sure that all the door’s components are still in good working condition.
If this is not the case, they are immediately replaced or repaired before things get worse.
If there are any loose parts or components that are on the verge of becoming no good, please do not hesitate to replace them accordingly.
3. Check the garage door’s symmetry
Garage doors are designed to be symmetric. This means that both sides of the door should be perfectly balanced.
If your door is imbalanced even by just a few inches when compared to the other side, then this could potentially mean that there is something wrong with your garage door.
To check on your door’s balance, you can do the following.
First, disconnect your opener and manually lift the gate halfway.
Doing so will allow you to check if your door is holding itself well or not. If it is tilted, try to find out what is causing it to tilt.
4. Confirm the roller’s conditions
The rollers on your doors should be able to last you seven years easily.
However, this is no assurance that it will not break down before then.
Concerns brought by rollers can easily be fixed by anyone.
However, if left unattended, can easily escalate and lead to other problems.
A good way to make sure that your rollers stay in perfect condition is by regularly applying lubricant to them.
By doing so, you reduce the friction that it is normally exposed to and in turn, indirectly extending its lifespan.
However, if the rollers are already not good or deformed, it is always best to have it replaced immediately.
5. Confirm the condition of the door’s weathering strips
Your garage door has weather-strips that prevent rainwater and other elements from entering the interior of your garage.
To keep your garage nice and clean, rubber seals are used.
However, just like everything else, they will eventually wear out and need replacement.
This is why it is important to check on the condition of your door’s seal to make sure that it can still serve its purpose.
After all, rain could potentially damage property if left unattended.
6. Lubrication of moving parts
This is probably the best way to make sure that your system runs smoothly and without any problem.
Probably the best way of taking good care of the garage door’s moving parts.
There are lots of different kinds of lubricants in the market.
Some of these are oil-based, lithium-based, and silicone-based.
Whatever kind of lubricant you use, just make sure that you do not leave a single part not lubricated.
Carefully apply lubrication on your garage door’s moving parts and make sure not to miss a single one.
7. Check the physical condition of your tension cables
Tension cables are exposed to a lot of stress and strain as they carry a lot of the door’s weight when it is lifted.
Thus, to prevent encountering any problems, it is best to make sure to check on your cable’s condition.
Check for any damaged or ripped strands on your tension cable.
However, do not attempt to fix or replace the cable without proper preparation.
Cable replacement can be dangerous if done carelessly as it can cause lots of damages and injury.
If your cables need replacement or repair, it is still best not to tinker with it and wait for professional help.
8. Make sure your door’s safety features are working properly
Most often than not, your garage door will come with safety-related features that will keep you away from harm.
Some of these are simple functions while others can be a little complicated.
Safety features can vary from door to door so there is no one way to check it all.
Find out all the safety features your door has to offer and test them one by one.
Make sure they are still working and keeping you safe from harm.
9. Cleaning your garage doors
Maintenance does not only refer to the technical parts but also things like this.
Cleaning your garage doors might seem like it does not do much but trust me, this is one way to take good care of your garage door.
There are lots of factors as to how external things can affect the different components of your overhead door if left exposed to it for longer durations.
However, this can be solved by simply cleaning your door and its multiple components.
Carefully clean the door’s different parts.
Remember, even accumulated dirt, no matter how small it may seem, can still affect the performance of your garage door if left unattended for a long time.
10. Check your door’s physical condition
Last but not the least; make sure to check on your door’s condition.
Do not just focus on the different components of your garage door and include the door itself in your maintenance.
If it is made of wood – check if the panels are still fine or if it is already worn-out and needs to be replaced anytime soon.
If it is made of steel, check for rust and others.
Grooming your garage doors and tidying them up is just as important as tidying your different individual garage door components.
The door itself is just as important as its parts after all.
Conclusion
Performing proper maintenance is certainly needed if you wish for your door to keep functioning a little longer.
Constantly having to replace parts can be quite expensive and maintenance has got this covered for you.
When things become less handy than it should be, know when to seek reliable professionals that can help you with your job.
GDR Los Angeles is a company that offers emergency repair services to both residential and commercial garage doors.
They offer quality services honed by their years of experience in the industry.
This being said, GDR Los Angeles does not only offer repair services but as well as installation and maintenance requests.
If you have a busy schedule and will be unable to give time to maintain your garage doors properly, then set a schedule with us.
We will make sure to maintain your door’s condition to the best that we can.
Give us a call and see what we can do. Reach out to us now and let us handle your different garage door related services and needs.
