Here are Garage Door maintenance tips to keep your garage door in working order and spare you from costly, time-consuming repairs. Each tip helps homeowners identify issues sooner, extend the life of their garage door and interior, and offer increased protection for the garage’s belongings.

Your garage door is the largest moving part of your home. It is used multiple times per day at any hour and in all seasons. Regular maintenance will keep it working longer and can prevent costly repairs down the road.

Below, we provide garage door maintenance tips to keep your garage doors working smoothly for years.

Garage Door Maintenance Tips

Observe the Door and Listen

The most important preventive step is to observe your garage door in action every time you use it. Is it moving smoothly, or is it jerky in places? Does it operate silently, or does it make grinding or scraping noises? Do both sides of the system (springs, pulleys, and cables) look symmetrical?

Tighten up the Hardware

The average garage door moves up and down more than a thousand times yearly. That’s a lot of movement and vibration, which can loosen the hardware. Examine and tighten all roller brackets and bolts with a socket wrench.

Test the Garage Door Balance

If your garage door is not balanced correctly, the opener must work harder and last less.

After disconnecting the opener by pulling the release handle (usually a red cord), manually move the door about halfway up. If the counterweight system (springs) doesn’t stay put, it is improperly balanced. It is best left to the professional to adjust the garage door spring.

Inspect and Replace the Rollers

The rollers, whether steel or nylon, need to be inspected twice a year and replaced every seven years or so, and even more if you use your garage door many times a day.

Worn, chipped, or cracked rollers should be replaced immediately.

Replace the Weatherstripping

Weatherstripping is the rubber seal at the bottom of your overhead door that helps block off your garage interior from water damage and the elements.

Replacing a cracked or brittle weatherstrip can help protect your garage from the rainy season and keep the outside from getting in.

Weather seals also keep air from flowing between your garage and outside, saving you money on energy costs and maintaining a comfortable temperature inside the space. Because weatherstripping prevents elements from coming indoors, always check it during season changes for the best energy efficiency.

Lubricate the Moving Parts

Keeping your garage door parts greased up will add years of seamless operation to your system – and it takes just 10 minutes a year! Use white lithium grease on the opener’s chain or screw and a spray lubricant, available from your garage door specialist, to coat the overhead springs.

Check the Cables

It would help if you never tinkered with the high-tension cables that lift your door because they have enough force to maim and kill. But you can check their condition to know when to hire a pro. Check for broken strands and damage near the bottom roller bracket.

Test Safety Features

When performing regular maintenance, always check the safety features. The photoelectric sensor and mechanical auto-reverse features prevent your garage from closing on objects and causing safety problems.

Place a piece of wood or a brick on the ground in the door’s path to test the mechanical feature. When the door coming down touches that object, it should reverse direction and go back up again.

To test the second, use the photoelectric system with beams at each side, close your door, and just pass your leg in the door’s path. Your door should reverse.