So, you have just made a fairly substantial investment to install the largest door in your home. You now have a vested interest and likely want to keep your garage door system in tip-top shape for as long as possible. Where do you start? Well, first-things-first, you will want to read the manual. Yes, everyone despises reading these dry boring things, but hey – you paid for it, so let’s make the most of the garage door system by understanding how it works and making the most of its bells-and-whistles. You also might want to hang on to the manual (throw it in the junk drawer) OR digitize it so that you can reference it later if-need-be to figure out replacement parts.
Make Time to Make Time
It’s easy to say ‘do an annual or semiannual garage door checkup’, but often years go by and no checkups happen. We recommend you actually put it on your favorite digital calendar and follow through with it when the time comes. And look, you don’t have to actually do this yourself – it is fairly inexpensive to simply have a local expert do a home visit. No big deal, problem solved. Regular evaluation and maintenance are BY FAR the best ways to extend the life of your garage door.
Most Common Things that Should be Evaluated
These routine checks can be as simple or complex as you make them. The bare minimum components that should be evaluated would include checking the tracks, and lubricating moving components. The tracks are almost guaranteed to need a routine cleaning each year, and are the primary reason doors become misaligned or, in general, stop operating smoothly. A wet rag and a cleaning bucket are basically all you need to keep those tracks clean. As far as lubricating moving parts, in general, a white lithium grease is most commonly used. There are also specialty lubricants (often spray-based) that you can purchase from your local garage door supplier.