Winter is terrible for so many reasons. Rain, clouds, cold, wind, and it seems like it’s night 80% of the time. Of the many dreary consequences of December through February, your garage door is oft forgot. But winter takes a toll on it, too, and if you don’t look out for symptoms your garage door is getting as bummed out as you are, you’re going to have some expensive repairs arise when spring finally comes around.
Keep winter and its consequences where it belongs by knowing the proper garage door maintenance to do before the dark season hits, and signs to look out for so you can call us to take care of any burgeoning issues so that when March finally comes around and it’s not night all the time, you can enjoy it and not have to worry about wintery stuff anymore!
Get Ahead of the Cold: Autumn Garage Door Maintenance
The best way to avoid piling garage door repair costs is to prevent problems in the first place. Twice a year – best in the fall and spring – you should have your garage door inspected and tuned up. You can do this yourself or have us come deal with it for you; it doesn’t take a long time or expensive supplies.
Clean Your All of the Garage Door’s Parts
Use a soft bristle brush, microfiber cloth, and mixture of water and a clarifying soap to gently clean the rollers, arms, tracks, pulleys, trolley track, hinges, hardware, and other metal parts on your garage door. You can use WD40 sparingly to deal with hard-to-remove gunk and surface rust, but ensure it is completely wiped off after – WD40 is not nice to metal parts.
Lubricate the Garage Door’s Components
Once you’ve cleaned everything, remove any soap residue with a slightly damp cloth. Wait for things to dry, then apply an approved garage door lubricant (silicone or white lithium grease) to all moving metal parts except the tracks. Don’t be too liberal with the lubricant – apply just enough for a light coating that is able to penetrate but not enough to be drippy or goopy.
Other Garage Door Parts to Maintain
Don’t forget to clean the photo eyes, seal any areas of surface rust, and replace any worn weather stripping. This will help protect your garage door’s parts from the wind and moisture outside.
Signs of Winter Fatigue: Problems to Look Out For
The most common issues that arise from winter weather are because of how different materials react to cold and temperature fluctuations, as well as increased moisture from rain, sleet, etc. Wintery weather can cause parts to seize, degrade and corrode. The problems we see most often are:
Broken Garage Door Springs
Weather takes a toll on garage door springs, and winter most of all. Keep apprised of the state of your garage door’s springs. If they’re looking rusty, you can spot areas of stretching/deformation, and/or your garage door starts to have trouble lifting while also lowering too quickly, call for professional garage door service. This is a problem to fix early, but it’s not one that’s safe to do yourself.
Deteriorated Weather Stripping
Weather stripping is what’s keeping most of the winter out. But because it’s made from rubber, it won’t be able to do it forever. Rubbers change with temperature fluctuations, becoming more flexible in warm conditions and stiffer in cold conditions. In the winter, the cold coupled with the moisture can make weather stripping brittle, letting in more cold and water into the rest of your garage door and its parts. Fortunately, this is an easy DIY garage door repair – check out our guide to garage door maintenance and repairs you can safely do yourself.
Blocked Photo Sensors
Sometimes the problem is as simple as that gunk and debris have blocked the sensor eyes at the bottom of the garage door. These control the safety reverse on your garage door. If they’re blocked, the door will stop functioning correctly or at all. This is a simple case of taking a paper towel and some glass spray and cleaning off the eyes – no real garage door repairs needed.
Damaged Garage Door Belt
Belt drives are preferred to chain drives because they offer quieter, smoother operation of the garage door. But belts are rubber. While the rubber is strengthened and treated to stand up to weather and use, rubber is still a material that reacts to temperature changes and water intrusion. In the winter, belts may start to become stifle, brittle and have small cracks appear. That means it’s time to replace them before they have time to break and cause a huge problem with your garage door.
Catching Problems Early: Call a Garage Door Repair Company
Most garage door repairs don’t cost much, especially when you deal with them early. Don’t leave your garage door to struggle through the winter if you know something’s off. A service call that could have cost $100 could turn into one that costs much more. Or worse, a totally broken garage door that needs replaced.
If you’re feeling like something sketchy is going on with your garage door, just give SACS a call. Whether it’s a bit of advice, an on-the-phone diagnosis, a house call, or emergency garage door service, we’ve got you covered. Serving the entire Sacramento area, including Rocklin, Folsom and Granite Bay with top-tier garage door service by the region’ best garage door repair professionals.