When you leave for work, when you come home, and even used for working outdoors, you probably don’t even realize how much use your garage door gets.  With so much movement, it’s important to ensure that your garage door operates properly now and in the future.  We’ve come up with a list of tips to keep your garage door operating flawlessly.

When doing preventative inspections, a vital step is using your senses—most importantly, looking and listening.  Is your garage door making a grinding noise?  Is opening and closing done smoothly?  Is the system running smooth and symmetrical?  Asking these questions when using your garage door can save you from further damaging your garage door system.

During your inspection, look at the rollers.  About every seven years, rollers need to be replaced.  If you notice cracks or if the rollers are worn or chipped, they need to be replaced.  Simply remove and reinstall any roller brackets that are not attached to the cable system.

Next, complete some routine maintenance on your garage door.  Tighten up the hardware, replace the weatherstripping, clear the tracks, lubricate the moving parts, etc.  Greasing the moving parts can add years to your garage door system’s lifetime.

If necessary, the weather seal strip on the bottom of the door can be easily replaced to keep your house safe from outdoor dirt, debris, weather, and animals.  Weatherstripping that is cracked or stiff should be replaced immediately.

Dirt and debris can also damage your garage door tracks.  However, if adjusting the tracks is best left to a professional to ensure maximum safety.

Another tip in garage door maintenance is balance.  If your garage door is not balanced, the automated opener system will have to work extra hard, causing it’s lifetime to decrease.  To check your garage door balance, disconnect the opener, move the door about halfway up manually, and check to see if it stays lifted.  If not, the springs are imbalanced.

The final steps include checking high-tension cables, testing the auto-reverse safety features, and looking at the garage door itself.  When checking cables, simply look over the condition of the cables.  Do not try to fix cables yourself as the force of high-tension cables can be life threatening.

As you inspect your garage door system, don’t forget to look for warped, water damaged areas.  If you are concerned with anything you see during your inspection, call a professional technician.