With spring fast approaching, many homeowners begin to use their garage more than they may have done during the long, cold winter months, and with the warmer weather, comes a great opportunity for checking the doors’ function and making sure it’s all set for the spring and summer season.
With less tension on the moving parts and less inclement weather to contend with, the spring is the best time to put the following maintenance tips into action:
Clean it up and get it organized
It may have been tempting during the winter months to use your garage as more of a storage facility, but for ease of use and keeping rodents and other pests at bay, it’s important to get in there and clean it up as best you can. Get rid of anything you don’t need, and make sure that what you do need, is stored safely away in drawers or on shelves.
Grease all moving parts
If you don’t feel comfortable doing this yourself, you can ask your local garage door specialist to do it for you, but it’s a fairly simple DIY maintenance tip. Apply lubricants on the hinges and rollers, and also to the bearings and pulleys on torsion-spring openers; this will help keep them operating smoothly for the warmer months ahead.
Listen to your door as you open and close it
A well maintained and fully functioning garage door won’t make any odd noises when being opened and closed, such as creaks, groans, or scrapes, and should move smoothly, as opposed to with a jerky motion.
Keep an eye on the pulleys, cables, and springs as you operate it, and if anything looks or sounds out of place, call a local garage door technician and have them come and check it for any issues.
Install a smart garage door opener
Being able to remotely operate your garage door, and check whether it’s open or closed from any location using your smart device, is an incredibly convenient feature of modern garage doors, and upgrading to one is a great way of keeping your garage, your home, and your family safer, irrespective of what season it may be.
Consider replacing your garage door
If winter has taken its toll on your garage door, and it simply has too many issues needing repair, replacing it might be the most cost-effective and practical solution.
Depending on how many repairs your garage door needs as you assess its condition at the beginning of springtime, the cost of having lots of work carried out on it could amount to more than the cost of a new garage door or may only be temporary measures for a door that is tired, old, and failing.
While spring is a wonderful season for carrying out all manner of maintenance work and checks around the home, it’s important to remember that your garage door needs to be looked after all year round in order to keep it functioning safely and effectively.
