If you’re in higher elevations, cold weather is hard on garage doors. There are many problems cold, wet weather can cause with various parts of your garage door. The good news is, you don’t have to be at the whims of winter – some seasonal prep before the cold comes can protect you from a drafty garage and costly repairs when spring comes along. Here are 10 easy things you can do to protect your garage door from winter weather:

• Inspect the garage door’s parts and all its infrastructure. Is it jerking as it lifts and lowers? Check the tracks and clean them out. While you’re at it, replace any metal rollers with nylon ones; they hold up way better against wet and cold. Replacing worn rollers is a cheap and simple do-it-yourself repair.
• Clean and remove all surface rust from any of the garage door’s parts – and don’t forget the trolley. What starts as surface rust in November can turn into full-on corrosion by March. A simple wipe-down with a non-corrosive cleaner and a gentle once-over with a wire brush does wonders. Don’t forget to wipe the sensor eyes, too.
• Once you’ve cleaned all the components of your garage door, lubricate them with a lithium-based lubricant. Never use WD-40, as it’s actually not great for metal. A lithium-based lubricant specifically made for garage door parts not only makes it easier for your door’s opener to lift and lower the door, but it protects the parts from moisture. One thing to remember, though: never lubricate the tracks. It gums them up and attracts debris.
• Make any necessary adjustments to the drive – both chain drives and belt drives can be affected by temperature fluctuations, and a loose drive can cause an overhead door to go off-balance, or worse, off-track.
• Check for rust on your garage door’s panels. Remove any surface rust and cover with a quick coat of clear sealant. If there’s actual corrosion on a panel, it’s a good idea to get it replaced before winter. However, if you don’t have the time or money, and it’s a small area that hasn’t compromised the integrity of the panel, you can remove all the corrosion and patch with a tar-based sealant.
• Chilly weather below 35 degrees can thicken the oil that lubricates the motor on your garage door opener, causing it to run slowly. You may need to set the “down force” setting during particularly cold weather so the door can completely close with the floor. If the door is still too heavy, place it into mechanical mode by turning off the opener. Open it manually. If it still too heavy, you may be having problems with the springs. If it’s the garage door’s springs, that’s definitely something you should call us for – springs aren’t safe to deal with yourself.
• Take this opportunity to inspect the motor in your garage door opener’s unit, and the batteries in the opener remote. Replace any parts that have acid buildup or corrosion.
• Never forget the weather seals around your garage door – especially the bottom one. This simple, inexpensive garage door part can make all the difference in keeping your garage door from being drafty, and water and road salt leaking in through the bottom of the door. Weather seals will need replaced if they are cracked, broken, brittle, and/or fallen out of place. This is another simple DIY repair – buy new seals, cut to fit, and slide them in.
• If your garage door isn’t insulated, now’s the time to do it. You don’t have to install a whole new garage door to insulate it, either. From spray foams to reflective interior panels, you’ll lessen the stress on all your garage door components and opener parts by protecting them from the lower temperatures outside. As a bonus, insulation cuts humidity, too.
• Lastly, tighten all your garage door’s parts. Nuts, bolts, hinges – everything. Don’t overtighten; they do need a bit of give. But leaving fasteners loose puts unbalanced wear and tear on the moving parts and the door’s opener. It can cause the door to rattle, go off balance or off track, and even compromise the panels.

Call Us Anytime for Fast, Friendly, Guaranteed Garage Door Service!

Winter is a busy season for garage door repair companies because such issues are common. That’s why we encourage homeowners to put regular care into their garage doors; it not only saves you money in repair costs, but it makes your door last longer. Call SACS GARAGE DOOR REPAIR if you are still having problems, or if you’d like us to take care of your winter prep checklist. Serving the Rocklin, Folsom and Greater Sacramento areas, our technicians are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.