Top 5 Garage Door DIY Maintenance Tips

Garage doors seem pretty simple at first glance; after all, they only have two functions, to open and to close. However, these large heavy openings still need regular maintenance because they are in such heavy use.

The average garage door in a primary residence opens and closes between ten and twenty times each day. Consider that action repeated daily over the course of years, and the wear and tear adds up rather quickly.

Doing some basic “do it yourself” easy maintenance can help reduce the wear and tear while helping to extend their life as long as possible:

1. Clean. Each season, use a soft cloth or brush and a gentle soap to remove the corrosive elements from the garage door itself as well as the lift system. For wooden garage doors, there may be specific guidelines for washing that come from the manufacturer, so if you have wooden doors it is important to review these before doing any maintenance yourself.
2. Lubricate. As the garage door is composed of moving parts, it is important to keep those parts lubricated just as this is important in all mechanical systems with moving parts. Use lightweight oil such as WD40 and coat all moving parts, rollers, hinges, and pivot points at least once a year. Springs are more sensitive to wear and rubbing, so they should be lubricated each season.
3. Weather stripping. Weather stripping is put in place in order to combat the effects of extreme weather conditions. Accordingly, it follows that it can suffer some wear and abuse from the climate, resulting in jamming or tearing. Check the stripping and replace as necessary.
4. Avoid salt. In colder climates, many homeowners use salt to melt the snow and ice that accumulate on the driveway. While this is helpful to avoid slipping and falling, the salt is highly corrosive and can damage the garage door and opening mechanism. For this reason, keep salt away from the garage opening if you use it during the winter, and rinse any that accumulates.
5. Loose parts. Check seasonally for loose or worn hinges, springs, and hardware as spotting any problems early allows you to fix them before they become bigger and more costly. Secure any loose parts and replace those that have broken or worn out.