Preparing Your Garage Door for Winter

Fall is the ideal time for the safety inspection of your house and garage to ensure that they will be ready for winter. Maintenance of your garage door is important and requires a minimal investment of money and time.

The door

To clean your door, the experts at Garaga garage doors suggest using a gentle soap (e.g. same as you use to wash your car) and rinsing thoroughly. For those tough stains, use an all-purpose detergent. Do not use abrasive cleaners or other strong liquids. To stop the damaging effects of acid rain and ultraviolet rays of the sun you can apply liquid car wax once a year.

The frame weather seal

We suggest cleaning your PVC weather seal with an all-purpose detergent and then, thoroughly rinse. Lubricate the weather seal every two months (more often depending on usage) with a silicone lubricant. Do not use petroleum based lubricants; the petroleum attacks rubber.

Tracks, rollers and lifting springs

To keep your door running smoothly, it's important to check all moving parts. They need a minimum of maintenance to offer better performance. Lubricate the rollers, track and hinges and all moving parts with a little motor oil (e.g. 10W30) every three months. Wipe off excess oil with a cloth. The safety cable also needs to be checked to avoid problems. The track doesn't need to be lubricated. We suggest lubricating the rollers (the inside) and the hinges with a metal lubricant. Do not use any lubricant with cleaner base. Vicky Leclerc of Garaga emphasizes: "For your own safety, never attempt to adjust the springs, the bottom brackets, or the hoisting cables yourself because of the inherent risk associated with the great deal of tension in the springs. A Garaga installer can do the work for you."

Don't forget the electric opener

Weather conditions may cause some minor changes in door operation requiring some re-adjustment. So it is important to do a check up once a month. First, disengage the opener from the door by pulling the opener release rope/cord. Work the door manually. It must be well balanced. If the door is not balanced, contact a qualified garage door installer. A well-balanced door weighs five to eight kilograms. Check if your door opens and closes completely. If necessary, adjust limits and/or force. Since 1986, all the residential door openers are supplied of with two security devices. Check the safetyreversing sensor. The door must reverse on contact if an object (a 2 X 4 wood stud) or a person is under it. Also, check if your photo sensors are correctly plugged in and aligned. The door should reverse if any object passes through the beam. Do not permit children to play with the opener. Your garage door is an important part of your home, by performing the suggested maintenance it will provide you with carefree convenience for many years to come.