On average, a garage door torsion spring (the preferred type of spring for garage door openers) will last between 10 to 30 years, depending on the quality of the spring itself and how well it’s maintenanced. However, if you don’t properly maintain your springs then they will often break much sooner than they should. 

A common cause of a broken garage door spring is rust that’s been allowed to get out of control, corroding the spring. However, there are ways you can prevent this potentially-dangerous problem, as well as a safe method to remove surface rust before it has a chance to become corrosion.

Inspect Your Garage Door’s Springs When Seasons Change

Over time, your spring can accrue rust and become corroded. Eventually, this causes the spring to crack and completely break. The best way to stop this from happening is by preventing rust build up in the first place. You can keep tabs on your garage door spring by making a habit of checking its condition at the very least, seasonally. 

Particularly wet seasons, whether due to rain or humidity, are the hardest on your garage door’s springs. When water is allowed to penetrate the surface of the metal, it starts a chain reaction that weakens the spring. Keep track of the condition of your torsion springs – especially before, during and after the chillier, wetter seasons.

Preventing Rust Buildup on Your Torsion Springs

It’s always best to do preventative care on all your garage door’s parts, because having to get a new garage door is a pretty big cost, and an unnecessary one when you could prevent it by giving your garage door the occasional TLC moment. And springs are one of the most important parts, because they do most of the lifting and lowering work for the opener. 

A broken garage door spring renders your door unusable, which is not only inconvenient, but also dangerous. If a torsion spring snaps when you’re closing the garage door, the door will come crashing down, possibly damaging your car or even hurting someone. 

To avoid needing garage spring repair, you can prevent rust from collecting by applying the occasional light coating of white lithium grease or silicone spray. You can also call a garage door repair company to perform quarterly tune-ups on the spring and other garage door parts. It saves you time, and making sure your garage door gets a professional inspection also prevents other big, potentially-dangerous issues from going unnoticed.

What If There’s Already Rust on The Door’s Springs?

If you notice some rust buildup on your garage door springs, it is possible to clean it off, as long as the rust hasn’t been left long enough to have actually corroded the spring itself. If the springs are corroded (if it seems parts of it have been sort of “eaten away”), stop using your garage door and call a company that performs garage door service so no further damage occurs to your door or its opening system. But, if you’ve just got some light surface rust, you can (carefully!) remove it yourself:

Cleaning the Rust off Your Garage Door Springs:

• First, use WD-40* or a solvent that’s appropriate for garage door parts to lightly coat the rusted area.
• Once you’ve applied the solvent, allow it to sit and penetrate through the rust.
• Note: Before cleaning your spring, make sure to wear eye and hand protection. Your springs are under significant tension and can be dangerous to tamper with. Also, make sure you never stick your hand into the spring itself. It’s always best to take these precautions, especially if you happen to find more damage than you thought you would.
• Once the solvent you applied has had time to soak into the rusted area, carefully scrub the rusty area using a wire brush or pad. Once clean, wipe off excess rust and solvent. You can use a wire brush and lightly-soaped water to carefully remove everything.
• After the spring is cleaned and dry, be sure to apply lubricant to the spring once finished. You can find lubricant made specifically for garage door parts at any major home improvement/hardware store. This will help the spring function with less friction and will also protect from new rust buildup.

Note: WD-40 works well for cleaning and removing rust, but should not be used a lubricant. If you leave a coating of WD-40 on your springs, they may end up more damaged than they were before.

What To Do With a Corroded Garage Door Spring

If your garage door spring is significantly rusted to the point of corrosion, you should opt for a replacement instead. Corrosion means structural damage, making your garage door springs at risk of failing much earlier than they should. In this situation, it’s often best just to replace the spring entirely. 

Signs that the spring immediately needs replaced: the door jumps up and down, has trouble moving along the tracks, or makes loud noises. And whether you have extension springs or torsion springs, you can often easily see if the springs are stretched, warped or corroded.

While we love a good DIY garage door repair – our blog is full of these types of guides – garage door springs just aren’t something someone should deal with themselves. It takes a skilled hand and an experienced eye to replace them safely and accurately.

A SACS GARAGE DOOR REPAIR technician can assess what type of spring your garage accommodates, and present you with options for replacement – including if you’d like to convert from extension to torsion springs. Even better, they can replace the springs quickly, safely and properly so you don’t have to worry about living with the dangers of a broken garage door spring.

Don’t Slack on Your Garage Door Spring Maintenance

Try to think of your garage door the way you think of your home’s water heater, furnace, oven, fridge, etc. These are all things you maintenance and pay attention to, because they’re things you need to function properly for your home to function properly. Well, so is your garage door. So, perform your own garage door maintenance regularly, and any time you have a concern, call SACS for anything you need!