How Often Do Garage Doors Need Maintenance?

In 2021, Raynor Garage Doors reported that garage doors open and close approximately 1,500 times each year. As such, you must keep your garage door in good working order. The best way to do that is by enlisting the services of a good garage door installation company to stop by and perform regular maintenance on the door and all its components. This may seem like a luxury, but as we'll see, it's more of a necessity.

The Importance of Proper Garage Door Maintenance

As we mentioned, most people who live outside the city center use the garage door as the primary entryway to their home. The typical garage door will last 15-20 years if properly maintained and opened thousands of times in all types of weather. However, prioritizing proper garage door maintenance can cut its useful life in half and cost you a small fortune in calls to the garage door installation and repair guys. Here are five problems the average homeowner can expect to encounter if they don't have their garage door properly serviced:

Failure of the Extension or Torsion Springs

The springs are the undisputed workhorses of the garage door. They're tough, powerful, and reliable. But they're also big pieces of coiled metal exposed to nature's wrath their entire life. As such, keeping them clean and well-lubricated is crucial to their long-term health and effectiveness. Letting them accumulate dirt in the coils and allowing them to rust will significantly shorten their life. And believe us, if you have an older garage door with a single torsion spring, you don't want to be under the garage door when that spring snaps because it's so rusty. Regular maintenance can prevent these issues and extend the life of your garage door springs. It's a small effort that can save you from major inconvenience and potential injury.

Motor Burnout

While it's the springs that do most of the heavy lifting, it's the opener that sets the door in motion. The motor in your garage door opener is reliable and strong, but it's a mechanical device. Like all mechanical devices, it needs periodic checkups. Ignoring this fact will allow small issues to blossom into problems that could lead to burnout and the need for premature replacement. You shouldn't ignore regular checkups for your car; you shouldn't ignore them for the garage door opener.

Track and Roller Failure

Think about where your garage door is located. The exterior takes the brunt of Mother Nature's fury, and every time the door is open, dirt, debris, rain, snow, sleet, leaves, and more are sucked into the garage from outside. And what's in the garage? The tracks that your garage door rides up and down on. When the garage door installation company completed their work, they no doubt said something about making sure you clean the tracks periodically. But if you're like most homeowners, this simple task got pushed down the priority list. Failing to keep the tracks clean can cause all kinds of problems with the door, including uneven opening, broken rollers, and motor burnout as it strains to pull the door through the grime. The garage door maintenance pro will make sure your tracks are squeaky clean.

Failure of the Safety System

All new garage doors are required to have an auto-reverse feature. This is an electric eye that shines a beam of light across the opening of the door. If a child or a pet breaks the beam of light while the door is closing, the door automatically reverses and opens back up again. This way, your loved one or pet does not become victims of a garage door they didn't see coming. Neglect garage door service long enough, and you can be reasonably sure your auto-reverse safety system will wind up kicking off, and you will only realize it once it's too late.

Infestations with Common Pests

The garage door opening is the largest opening on your home's exterior. Therefore, the door must close snugly and securely. The longer it goes without service. However, the less perfect will be the seal when the door closes and the more opportunities there will be for all kinds of pests to move into the garage and set up house. Most small mammals can squeeze through surprisingly tight spaces, so after just a few years of letting the door go, you could discover you have mice, opossums, raccoons, or even snakes living in what is to them, a nice cozy garage.

An old, poorly maintained door is a much greater security threat than a tight, well-maintained one. Rotting panels can be easily kicked in, allowing a burglar to gain entry, and the manual release mechanism can be triggered in about 10 seconds on a loose door, giving someone quick, unfettered access to your home.

How Often Do Garage Doors Need Maintenance?

Garage doors of one kind or another have been around for centuries. At one point, they secured the entrance to structures that house carriages. Now, as has been the case since the late 19^th century, their primary function is to guard an attached or detached building where people store their cars. The technology that makes them possible has evolved over time, but the key purpose of a garage door remains unchanged.

As with anything mechanically or electrically powered, a garage door will need occasional inspection and even work by a professional garage door repair team to ensure it works properly and safely. Unfortunately, many homeowners may not decide to call for professional garage door repair services until something goes wrong.

Our advice is simple: Call sooner rather than later! But the question remains.

If you call and speak with one of our garage door repair specialists, they will tell you it is advisable to service your garage door twice a year. With prompt response times and affordable services, our team can help you meet the twice-a-year goal with little or no effort. We can schedule follow-up or regular maintenance appointments in advance, just as you would do for twice-yearly dental or health exams.

Ideally, these seasonal garage door maintenance exams should be performed by professionals in the Fall (to prepare for the winter) and in the spring (to prepare for the summer). This makes the most sense, given that severe weather extremes can buffet your garage during either of those seasons.

A garage door is normally the largest moving part in any home and may be open or closed several times a day, regardless of the hour or season. In other words, your garage door could be fully raised or lowered thousands of times each year. With proper maintenance, your garage door could operate smoothly for decades, but only if you care to perform regular maintenance and preventive care.

Fix Garage Door Issues on Your Own

Before we go into specifics, please remember that garage doors can weigh hundreds of pounds and feature high-pressure torsion springs which are dangerous. If a garage door falls or a torsion spring flies loose, it could damage personal property or cause serious physical harm. You should call a garage door repair company if you have any doubts about what work needs to be done. Here are some things that most homeowners can handle on their own.

• Does Anything Look or Sound Funny? — Something wrong with your garage door can usually be seen or heard, so pay attention every time you open or close it. Are there scraping noises? Does the door appear to be off-center?
• Tighten Up the Hardware — Because the average garage door opens and closes more than a thousand times a year, constant movement and vibration can loosen hardware. Look at and tighten all roller brackets and bolts with a wrench if necessary.
• Test the Garage Door Balance — You can test your garage door balance by pulling the release handle and disconnecting the opener. Afterward, you can manually raise the door about halfway up. If it falls back down, the springs act as counterweights and are improperly balanced. Adjusting garage door springs is best left to a garage door repair company.

• Inspect and Replace the Rollers — Similarly to door springs, the rollers, whether nylon or steel, should be inspected twice a year and replaced about every seven years by trained professionals, and even more if your garage door is used more frequently.
• Do You Feel a Draft in the Garage During Cold Weather? — If the rubber weather seal along the bottom of the door is cracked or brittle, replace it promptly to keep the elements out of your house. Physical and online retailers sell weatherstripping, but you should know the door dimensions before purchasing. The product should include installation instructions, or videos may be available from the manufacturer or a DIY enthusiast.
• Lubricate Moving Parts — This is a no-brainer. A squeak does not always mean a part is ready to break, but using lithium grease on the opener's chain or screw takes about 10 minutes every year and will keep the door operating smoothly year to year. A spray lubricant can be used on the overhead springs.
• What About the Cables? — If your door cables have broken strands or are damaged by the bottom roller bracket, call a professional. High-tension cables are dangerous and can cause serious bodily harm or death if they fly off.
• Test the Auto-Reverse Safety Features — This can be accomplished by placing a brick or piece of wood on the ground on the door threshold. This will test the photocell sensor on either side of the door and the mechanical automatic reversal feature of the door opener. Garage doors and openers older than 20 years may lack such basic safety features, meaning it is time to price-shop for a new door.

Call a Local Garage Door Repair Specialist

Your eyes and ears are your first defense in determining if your garage door needs maintenance, so care for yours and give it the attention it craves. The professionals at A Better Garage Door offer quality maintenance and repairs at affordable prices. To learn more about our garage door service team or to schedule an at-home inspection, call 303-920-2267.

For Essential Garage Door Maintenance, Call the Professionals

If you want your garage door to live out its intended lifespan and always answer the call even when the weather is at its worst, it's important to have it properly maintained. No one is better qualified to perform maintenance on your garage door than experienced garage door installation professionals. They know every aspect of the garage door mechanism like the back of their hand, and they're qualified to do everything it takes to keep your door running smoothly.