Learning About Garage Doors

If you do not properly care for your home's garage door, you may find that it is prone to developing a number of mechanical problems. These problems may greatly compromise the performance of the door, and this can lead to you need to have it repaired. To help you minimize the problems that your door can suffer, it might be wise to be mindful of the following garage door care tips.  

Regularly Test Your Door's Balance

As time progresses, your garage door is likely to come out of balance. This issue can cause the system to struggle to open and close as well as increasing the amount of wear and tear that the unit sustains. Luckily, it is fairly easy for you to test your door's balance to ensure that this issue is not developing.

In order to test your garage door's balance, you will need to turn off the primary motor. This motor may detect when the door is being lifted and automatically activate. Once you have lifted the door about halfway, you should let it go and watch it for several minutes. A garage door that is well-balanced will be able to hold its position. If the door starts to rapidly or gradually fall to the ground in this time, you may want to have a professional contractor balance the door.

Check For Scrapes And Scuffs On The Door Guides

Every few weeks, you should perform a quick visual inspection of the door guides. These guides keep the door from coming out of the track, but they can be subjected to intense damage if the door's rollers are malfunctioning. A common sign for problems with the rollers will be scuffing or scrapes along the door guides. If you do not have the malfunctioning roller replaced, it could eventually fail, which could cause your door to become jammed.

Add Lubrication To Your Door's Motor And Chain Every Couple Of Years

A garage door can be an immensely heavy item, and the motor that raises and lowers it will be subjected to intense stresses. To prevent the unit from being destroyed by friction, it is necessary to occasionally add lubricant to the door. The amount of use that your garage door experiences will largely determine the frequency with which you will need to add lubricant to it, but most homes will only need to have this maintenance performed once every year or two. When buying lubricant for your door, you should make sure to only use ones that are specially formulated for garage door use. Garages often have much higher humidity and temperatures than the rest of the home, and these factors can break down the performance of many lubricants.

For more information, talk to a professional like Duncan Door Service Inc.