Is that My Garage Door Or A Train That I Hear?

   One of the most common questions that customers ask me when I am installing or repairing a garage door is " what kind of maintenance should we be doing to keep our garage  doors and openers working properly?" Good Question! The interesting thing is that it does not seem like there is a concrete answer.. Some garage door companies advertise that you should have a pro look at your door every 4 months to some installers that put up the overhead door and opener and use no grease or lube whatsoever and do not recommend any... Well... I disagree with both approaches, Here are my recommendations 

  First thing to look at is the garage door rollers. Most garage doors now have bearing-less nylon rollers that supposedly are maintenance free... well I guess not much can be done to help a poor piece of plastic turning on a metal stem...  but they can be damaged by using WD-40 on them. WD-40 or any lubricant with silicone will soften them and you will get a build-up of "plastic" on your track that starts making your door rollers drag... The other types of garage door rollers typically have a bearing and should be lubed at least once a year if not more with a quality garage door lube, while you are lubricating the rollers look to see if there is a build up of crud on the track... If there is use brake cleaner to clean the track then give it a light coating of garage door lube as well.... Do not use grease on the track, it will get sluggish when it gets cold  (M. C. Overhead Door recommends and uses only a quality silicone free garage door lube)

  The next thing to look at is the spring, there are different types if springs but all of them benefit from a light coat of garage door lube once or twice a year.. Spring also lose their strength over time and should be adjusted every three or four years. If you are not familiar with how to adjust garage door springs, call a professional garage door installer to do it for you and also do a overall garage door tune up. If the spring is not adjusted properly it will add stress to the garage door operator and may cause it to fail.

  The garage door opener also can use a bit of attention on a yearly basis, check to see if the chain or belt is tensioned correctly, Use a little grease on the traveler, and a little garage door lube on the chain is all that is needed to keep the garage door opener working like new, but while your at it... make sure all the bulbs are working, and clean all the dead bugs and flies out of the light covers.

  That's all it should take to keep your garage doors and openers working "like new" for many years, In all it only takes 30 min to an hour a year and will make your investment last much longer then if no attention is paid to keeping it in top working order, If your are giving your door a tuneup and find a part or 2 that need replaced. Visit our online parts store at www.mcoverheaddoorparts.com  or if you are local and wish to have a professional give your door a tune up visit our service website at www.mcoverheaddoor.com