It's probably safe to say that most homeowners never give a thought to their home's garage door until it begins to make loud noises when operating, hangs crooked, or gets stuck when opening and closing. When these things happen, it's always best to call a repairperson so they can address needed repairs properly and safely; however, note a few tips to consider that will help to keep that garage door in good repair, and ensure you avoid damaging it. This will reduce the number of otherwise unnecessary repairs that may need to be done, and ensure your home's garage door is always working properly.
Avoid tugging at the door
If you need to close the door manually, and it seems "sticky" or difficult to move, avoid tugging or trying to force it to close. A door may stick because the rollers and tracks are rusted, bent, or pulled away from the wall, or because of damage to the chains or springs that hold the weight of the door. Tugging or forcing it to close can pull damaged tracks off the wall, or outright break a rusted metal part.
A better solution is to use some industrial lubricant spray and give a quick spray to the tracks, rollers, and other exposed metal pieces. This can help the door move smoothly, and you'll avoid causing damage by trying to force it to close.
Open and close it from the middle
When manually opening and closing the door, always do so from the middle, so that the weight of the door is dispersed evenly. Opening or closing it from one side can actually pull the door off-centre, so that it may become bent or crooked, or put undue pressure on one set of tracks.
Maintain the remote
If you have a garage door opener installed with your garage, you may not give much thought to the remote, other than to change the batteries after they die. However, a poor-quality remote can put added wear and tear on the electrical systems of the garage door opener. The wiring in that opening system may be receiving intermittent signals from a damaged remote, so that the opener stops and starts working, wearing out its parts and the parts connected to the garage door. Upgrade the remote to a new one when it begins failing, even if it has new batteries, and this can ensure the wiring and other parts of the garage door opener don't suffer that unnecessary wear and tear.
Share
