Preventive maintenance on your Canton Michigan home's garage door system  can  prolong most garage door door repairs that would other wise happen in a sorter time span.

When using your garage door system several times a day, every day, with no sign of failure it can easily be taken for granted.  There will however be one day that something does fail, such as broken spring, the door falls off from track, or the opener is un responsive for no apparent reason.

To help home owners pro actively address these future inconveniences we have put together 9 point list of maintenance checks that home owners can reference.   Doing should prolong the need to hire a Canton Mi Garage Door Repair Expert.   

Tip #1: Listen for garage door problems

 When opening and closing your garage door system there should be a minimal amount of noise.   If your hear sounds such as squealing, scrapping or grinding you most likely have a problem.  You will want to open and close the door a few times do you can pin point where the ill regular sounds are coming form.  A properly function door will produce relatively low volumes of noise and will operate in a smooth manner. 

Tip #2 Inspect and tighten up loose hardware

Most home owners will open and close thier garage door on average 1000 times in a year.  With there being so many parts in the doors system this create for an occasional loose nut or bold after all the vibrations from opening and closing take effect.  Every 6 months to a year a home owner should check thier garage door hard ware for proper tightening. 

Tip #3  Check to see if your garage door springs are in balance

A sure tell sigh that will indacate a garage doro that is no in proper blance is one that will not hold its own weight after the mid way point.  

You can test by releasing the emergency corde from the opers rail system.  Once he door has been released from the opener you will lift the door 50% of the way up.  If your door drops back to the ground and is unable to maintain posotion it is likely you door is out of balance.  An unbalanced door can cause springs and operns to work harder than they have to which can cause pre mature failer.  

Its best to leave the tightening and balance of a garage door spring system to a professional as the are properly trained in such ares of repair. 

Tip #4 Inspect and replace any worn garage door rollers

As with tightening we would recommend inspecting your garage door rollers twice a year.   Rollers will come in both nylon and steel.  Though excessive usage the bearings in these can often become warn and will not glide as freely as they should, which can cause a door to bind up, jerk, and create stress on all other parts. 

Worn or chipped garage door rollers, should be addressed immediately.  They are an easy fix for long term function .

Tip #5 Garage door weather stripping repairs

The weather stripping is not only helps keep the cold out but it also prevents moisture from collecting in your garage.  Keeping a tight dry seal around your garage door will prevent possible service level corrosion on all of your doors moving parts.  

Tip #6 Garage door cable condition checks

Over time garage door cables can wear from both weather conditions but also the load of stress they are under.  If your cables are presenting signs of corrosion or are shredding, then they should be replaced.  If your cables are high tension cables its best to call a professional as they are generally under high tension and when handled improperly they could cause extreme injury or death. 

Tip #7 Lubrication for garage door parts

This is one of the easiest ways to maintain your door system.   You will want to use a lithium based lubricant on garage door openers chain in addition to a spray lubricant for the springs.  Both of these can be acquired from a local hardware store or by a Canton MI garage door service professional. 

Tip #8 Check the inferred safety beams

Your safety beams should be located approximately 8 inches from the floor of your garage.  These seems should be secure and aligned parallel to each other.  Often times it will be the poor alignment of these sensors that will cause your garage door to have intermittent problems. 

Tip #9 Keep your track clean

If your using your garage for a lot of wood working or anything that creates a lot of dust its important to routinely dust your tracks.   Garage door tracks that are full of dust or have unnecessary amounts of debris on them will in the long term create increase wear on your rollers and entire system. 

About The Garage Door Repair Pros

We have been repairing and installing garage doors, garage door openers and garage door spring for over ten years in the Canton Michigan area.