Basic Garage Door Maintenance

by Kevin Smith Author

Your garage door is an important aspect of convenience that you enjoy every day. However, when a garage door isn't properly maintained, components can begin to fail, which can turn into a major headache. Here are some basic maintenance tasks for general garage doors in Alpharetta that you should know about.

Cleaning

Cleaning may sound too basic to be an important maintenance task, but it's actually very important. Garage doors are constantly exposed to wind, dirt, and grime which can build up around the tracks, hinges, and sensors. A common problem homeowners experience is issues with proper opening closing. This can often be due to a simple problem like dirty safety eye sensors. You can help avoid this issue by regularly cleaning around the garage door as well as its individual components.

Roller Care

If your door squeaks loudly when it opens or closes, it most likely needs more lubrication. This is an easy maintenance task and can help prevent the rollers from wearing out prematurely. If you notice the door is still squeaking after you've oiled it, you may need to call professional garage door technicians to further inspect the rollers. The rollers wear out after time and may need to be replaced.

Cable Check

The cables may often require some maintenance from time to time. Watch for fraying or rust to prevent snapped cables. If your garage door cables snap, you may be looking at other repairs to the door as a result. Inspect the entire cable for damage as well as tension. If you notice the cables wearing out, you should call a professional to replace them before they give out entirely and cause additional damage.

Balancing

An imbalanced door can't open and shut properly, so check this periodically. The door should hang evenly all the way across; if one side hangs lower than the other, the door needs to be rebalanced. You can check the balance of your door by releasing the door from the electric opener and opening and closing it by hand. Open the door halfway and let go. If the door stays in place, it's balanced. If not, you should call a garage door company to see what's causing it to be off balance. Proper balancing is an important maintenance component for general garage doors in Alpharetta because an imbalanced door can cause damage to the tracks and also cause the rollers to wear out more quickly.