A new study on garage door maintenance has recently revealed a shocking revelation: nearly 82% of homeowners aren’t caring for their garage doors properly.

Over half of the homeowners who took the poll reported that they have never had a garage door opener safety check, and over 25% of surveyed garage owners have never lubricated the parts on their door.

If you think about it, that all seems a little crazy. A complete garage door system is worth a pretty penny. Most people take care of other expensive appliances or new gadgets, but it seems the garage door is often neglected. Yet it also affects your daily life, family safety, and security of your home. Seems like a bad thing to overlook.

What if just a few minutes of your time every year could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars? Keep your property and family safer? Would it be worth it? We think so.

Most Garage Door Maintenance is Easy to Do Yourself

Many of the garage door repairs we perform for homeowners are for problems that could have been prevented if proper care was taken:

Pay attention to the garage door springs. 

One of the most common preventable repairs are broken garage door springs, which can cost a few hundred dollars or more to replace, especially if they damaged other parts of the door or panels when they broke. 

Regular visual inspections could have prevented a broken spring by detecting signs the spring was wearing out and replacing it before anything happened. Garage door springs can last ten years or more depending on their quality, but lack of lubrication can reduce their lifespan to 5 years or less. 

Always check the rollers.

Worn, rusty or gunked-up rollers can cause a chain reaction of awful events, like breaking a track, burning out the opener motor, breaking a spring, or making the garage door come off track. Rollers are cheap and easy to replace yourself. Choose nylon rollers for less friction and zero rust, and lightly lubricate seasonally.

Tighten loose screws and bolts.

Seeing or feeling any loose parts on the garage door? Grab a wrench and get to it! A super simple fix, taking a look at all the nuts and bolts of the door (literally) will help you suss out anything that’s getting rusty or stripped so you can replace them, and also gives you a chance to make sure everything is properly anchored and tightened.

But remember – don’t overtighten anything. It encourages stripping and increases susceptibility to rust and corrosion.

Don’t forget to get the right lubricant.

PSA: WD40 is not a garage door lubricant. WD40 is actually a solvent, meaning it will dissolve stuff. You want to clean a little gunk and surface rust off something? Perfect. But it needs rinsed off just like you would a soap solution, and the part needs lubricated afterward.

The best garage door lubricants are lithium-based – look for products that say “white lithium grease”. Avoid the urge to use petroleum-based lubricants on your garage door, as they can damage non-metal parts like the weather stripping or those new nylon rollers you just put in.

Hinges, rollers, brackets, and springs should all be gently cleaned and lightly lubricated seasonally. Never lubricate the inside of the tracks, though, as it will encourage grime buildup and increase friction.

Weather stripping matters.

Another simple DIY garage door repair is the weather stripping and bottom seal. These parts seal your garage door up – protecting the interior parts from the environment and keeping your garage door energy efficient. Check them seasonally. 

As they age, rubber weather stripping will get brittle and come out of place. But all you have to do is go find the same type at your local hardware store, cut to the same length, slide the old one out, and anchor the new one in. Easy as that.Costly breakdowns aren’t the only concern for homeowners who neglect their garage door – there’s also a safety issue. A little bit of time a couple times a year can save you money and risk to your house and home. And while you can do all this yourself, you don’t have to. Have a garage door service company like us come do it for you and give your garage door a tune-up while we’re at it.