Did You Know This About Your Garage Door??

Maintaining your garage door regularly extends its lifespan and enhances its safety measures. Here are eight tips to ensure your garage door performs at its best:

1. Monthly Inspection of Garage Doors

   An inspection each month will suffice and it’s a task you can do by yourself. Check the spring tension, assess the photo eye sensors and safety reverse mechanism, verify the door balance, and inspect the weatherstripping at your door’s base.

2. Clean Your Garage Door Tracks

   Over time, your garage door tracks may collect debris, which could slow down door operations and hinder the movement of the door’s rollers. To ensure optimal speed, clean the door tracks every two to three months. Here’s a simple method:

   • Open your garage door to reach the lower, vertical part of each track.
   • Moisten a soft, lint-free cloth with water or mild household cleaner and wipe along the inside of the lower track. If there’s stubborn debris, apply cleaner directly to the track, let it sit for several minutes, and then wipe with the cloth.
   • Close your garage door to reach the upper, horizontal part of each track.
   • Repeat the same procedure for the upper portion of the tracks.

3. Lubricate All Moving Parts

   Lubrication twice a year, and post-track cleaning, is vital to maintaining your garage door. Use products like WD-40 for optimal efficiency, noise reduction, and fewer mechanical failures.

4. Test the Auto-Reverse Feature

   The auto-reverse feature of your garage door, a crucial safety mechanism, must be tested monthly. It prompts the door to reverse upwards when it encounters an obstacle in its path, thus ensuring safety. Here’s how to test it:

   • Fully open the garage door and place an object directly in the door’s closing path. Ensure the object doesn’t interrupt the photo-eye sensors’ beam, or the door won’t close. An object of about 1 ½ inches in height is recommended.
   • Initiate the garage door closure.
   • The door should reverse upwards within 2 seconds of touching the object. If it doesn’t, it’s time to contact Southwest Doors and Gates for repair.

5. Test the Photo-Eye Sensors

   The photo-eye sensors of your garage door are key to its auto-reverse feature and need to be tested monthly. After conducting the auto-reverse test, here’s how to check the sensors:

   • Fully open the garage door. Position a large object in the closing path of the garage door.
   • Initiate door closure with the automatic opener.
   • The door should immediately refuse to close when the photo-eye sensors detect the object. If the door proceeds to close, contact Southwest Doors and Gates for a sensor check and replacement, if needed.

6. Inspect the Rollers

   A visual inspection of your rollers is a straightforward way to gauge the overall health of your garage door. Inspect the wheels for wear or damage, and check if the track is straight and secure. If your rollers or roller track are compromised, this can result in poor performance or garage door failure. Contact Southwest Doors and Gates for replacement if damage or subpar performance is detected.

7. Balance Test

   To test your garage door balance, close the door and disconnect the automatic opener mechanism. Manually lift the door from either side. The door should move smoothly with minimal resistance and stay in place when fully opened. If the door is hard to open or falls down after manual lifting, it’s unbalanced. A Southwest Doors and Gates technician should make the necessary adjustments.

8. Bi-Yearly Garage Door Tune-up

   This is where Southwest Doors and Gates steps in. Contact us for a routine check-up to ensure your garage door is working as it should.