When Should I Lubricate My Garage Door?

Summer is upon us, and that means your garage door is likely to see a lot more activity. Garage doors are used significantly less during the winter months, since they are only opened and closed when the family car is needed. However, in the summer, a garage often becomes the home’s most used entrance and exit. It may be opened or closed each time your children fetch their bikes and toys, when you and your spouse retrieve your lawnmower or gardening equipment, or for hundreds of other different reasons. This extra work that your garage door performs can create the potential for wear and tear. To keep your garage door functional and avoid causing problems during the summer, you need to make sure that it is well lubricated.

The Purpose of Lubrication

Lubrication has been employed by builders for thousands of years. When two rough surfaces meet, this causes friction that can lead to damage over time. A lubricant provides a slick filling that coats the spots where hard surfaces meet, allowing for better mobility and reducing the potential for damage. Your garage door is no different. Each time you open and close your garage door, its tough metal and plastic components scrape against each other. Without that smooth coating of lubrication, the garage door will quickly degrade and cease to function.

How Do You Know When Your Garage Door Needs to Be Lubricated?

The need for lubrication is often very obvious. A poorly lubricated garage door will make a sound worse than the proverbial fingernails against a chalkboard. If your garage door’s springs and rails require some work, they will produce very loud and noticeable scraping, clanging, or rattling sound. If it gets bad enough, your garage door will make a noise so loud that it will reverberate throughout the entire house. A well-lubricated garage door will make very little sound, and noise will be limited to what you hear when the motor of your garage door opener is operating. If your garage door is stuttering each time you open and close it, then chances are it needs some maintenance.

What Parts of the Garage Door Should Be Lubricated?

A garage door may produce noise if its parts are dirty. Before lubricating, be sure to clean every inch of your garage door by giving it a good thorough dusting, and clean away any dirt that has built up. After this is complete, be sure to lubricate therollers and springs, since these are the parts which do the most work. Typically, a can of WD-40 should be sufficient, but there are other specialty sprays which can be purchased at your local home improvement store.

Contact Our DuPage County Garage Door Repair and Installation Professionals

If your garage door is making a loud noise when opening and closing, and you have tried everything to fix it, that is when you need to bring in the Downers Grove garage professionals at Blue Sky Builders, Inc. We can provide garage door repairs and maintenance, and if necessary, we can help you determine your options for garage door replacement. For more information, contact us at 630-852-8485.