Your garage door is almost definitely the largest moving piece of equipment you have anywhere on your property. Its importance also cannot be understated—it protects the interior of your garage from the elements, from changing temperatures, from animals and from potential intruders. Therefore, it’s critical that you take every measure you can to keep your garage door in great shape so it lasts you for years to come.
With this in mind, here are just a few tips that, while very simple, can go a long way in providing you with better long-term garage door maintenance in Phoenix, AZ.
Regularly inspect the exterior of the garage door
It should come as no surprise that it’s the exterior of your garage door that’s going to experience the most wear and tear, and will show those signs much sooner than other parts of your garage door system. This is because it’s the part of the door system that’s fully exposed to the elements, including sunshine, rain, sleet, wind and changing temperatures. If you start to notice clear signs of wear, it could be that a fresh coat of paint is really all you’re going to need to make it look brand new again. However, there are some circumstances in which the problems may become more significant, or harder to patch up with any simple fixes.
The material of the garage door also impacts which steps you’ll need to take to shore up the exterior. For example, with wooden doors, it’s more likely you’ll experience issues such as rot, which can cause more significant damage.
Keep all components well lubricated
Lubrication is important to the healthy function of your garage door system. After all, the garage door is a mechanical system that features quite a few moving components. You should make sure, then, that you keep the track and rollers lubricated, and make sure that you’ve sprayed the springs to protect them from rust. You shouldn’t have to take these steps all that often, but it’s worth performing a quick inspection every now and then just to make sure these parts are capable of moving well.
This also includes the components of the garage door that open and close it. Check the garage door opener, and if you have a chain drive or screw drive, make sure you lubricate it just as you do with the track and roller portions of the garage door system. However, you should definitely not lubricate a belt drive system, as this will actually cause the belt to lose traction, which is the exact opposite of what you want for this kind of system.
Tighten components as needed
Your door system features standard mounting hardware like screws, nuts and bolts. It’s natural that, as you use the door frequently, those mounting components will vibrate, which could cause them to loosen. You should check these pieces somewhat regularly to make sure they’re all sufficiently tight and in good functional condition. This will also prevent additional damage from occurring to the system.
For more information about the best strategies to employ for ongoing garage door maintenance in Phoenix, AZ, contact Affordable Garage Doors today.
