We are regular at cleaning and maintaining our house, cars, and gardens. But it’s not enough to maintain a healthy and clean environment. We often overlook the maintenance of our garage door, but this is something that needs to be paid equal attention to. It would be best if you inspect your garage door at least twice a year to prevent any damage to it.
Imagine that you have to go to your office or drop your kids at school, and your garage door stops working and your car is stuck inside the door; what would you do? If you want your garage doors to continue to function efficiently and remain durable for an extended period of time, you should learn the craft of maintaining and caring for your garage doors. If you are looking for some quality garage doors, you can visit SD garage Doors, and you will find some excellent options.
To know more about how you can care for your garage door properly, make sure to read till the end.
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Door inspection
First, you need to inspect your garage door. Is your garage door making a louder sound than usual? Is it moving smoothly or not? Are the door and its parts adequately aligned? Are they moving in a smooth or jerky motion? Are the parts of your garage door in even alignment? Most of your garage door problems will manifest in unsmooth movements and sounds. A well-maintained garage door is comparatively quieter. Check all the parts of the door, including the pulley, cable, and springs.
Before routine maintenance, you will also have to gather the tools you may need, including brake cleaner, safety glasses, and various garage door parts.
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Tighten the hardware
The garage door moves up and down. The constant movement and vibrations could loosen up the door and hardware. You need to check the brackets holding the entrance to the wall and ceiling and the fasteners anchoring the garage door opener unit to the framing. On finding any loose bolts, you can use a socket wrench to tighten them.
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Servicing the chain/belt
Another critical step in the process would be to service your chain or belt. First, you need to disconnect the opener from the power source. Then move on to locate the adjustment bolt, and you will find nuts on the side to adjust the drive mechanism. You can then use a wrench to turn the nuts. It would help if you then tightened until the chain or belt is 1/4 inch from the bottom. You should refrain from over-tightening the nut as it may lead to breakage. Then move on to lubricate the chain or screw.
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Cleaning and painting the door surface
Inspecting the surface of the door is also essential. If you have a wooden garage door, wipe down the door with a clean, dry cloth. After inspecting, if you think the door requires repainting, then go ahead and do that. You can patch up any small holes with wood filler, sand, and paint over the patch as needed, then paint the patch as required. If you have a synthetic garage door, you can use a soft cloth and an appropriate cleaner. If it is a steel door, you also need to look out for rust stops.
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Lubricate the Moving Parts
The burden on rollers and door openers can be reduced by keeping them well lubricated. This will also ensure that they are more efficient and durable for an extended time. At least twice a year, you’ll have to apply a good quality spray lubricant like white lithium grease on the hinges and rollers. You also need to lubricate the pulleys. You should also pour or wipe oil on springs if they are rusty. Apply white lithium grease to all metal chains or screws.
Conclusion
We hope that this write-up has given you a fair idea and some valuable tips on properly caring for your garage door. Pay heed to the garage door as they do not maintain themselves. Getting stuck inside the garage due to lack of maintenance and overspending on garage door repairs is certainly not what you want.
