5 Essential Steps to Maintain Your Garage Door Before Winter

With freezing temperatures and snow just around the corner, getting your house and property ready for winter is important. This includes maintaining your garage door. Discover these five essential steps to winterize your garage door and ensure you are ready for the winter.

Step 1: Lubricate your garage door’s moving parts

Regularly lubricating the moving parts of your door should be a part of your yearly maintenance routine. In fact, all metal parts such as the rollers, springs and tracks should be oiled before winter starts.

1. Before getting started, use a dry cloth to remove any residual oil, dust and dirt accumulation.
2. Then, apply a light oil-based lubricant to rollers and hinge pivots.
3. Next, spray on white lithium grease to the opener’s chain and screw drive.
4. And last, use a cleaner lubricant on the springs.

Remember to apply lubricant products sparingly. Additionally, you can clean the tracks with a damp cloth. Most importantly, consult your owner’s manual and follow directions.

Step 2: Check your garage door’s spring system

Another important Step in garage door maintenance is checking the spring or counterbalancing system. To do this:

1. First, pull the release cord to disable your garage door opener.
2. Now, try lowering the door to the halfway position. You should be able to do this easily and the door should stay in position.
3. If this is not the case, your springs need to be adjusted. Contact Les spécialistes des portes Exitech inc. to adjust your springs and make sure the tension is right.

Step 3: Test the safety reverse

Your garage door may be equipped with a mechanical or photoelectric safety reverse feature. To test the system:

• For mechanical systems : place a larger piece of wood or object in the door’s path. Now push the button to close the door. The door should automatically go back up once it comes into contact with the piece of wood or object. If this does not happen, consult your owner’s manual or call a specialist.
• For photoelectric systems : simply stick your foot in front of the beam while the door is closing. Once again, the door should automatically reverse. If it does not, then there may be an alignment issue.

Step 4: Check and clean the weather stripping

Check the weather stripping around the garage door.

1. Wipe the weather stripping around the door and at the bottom with vinyl cleaner.
2. If you notice any damage or hardening, replace the damage parts.
3. Then, spray silicone-based lubricant to PVC weather stripping. This will keep it pliable and prevent the bottom seal from sticking to the snow.

Step 5: Keep your garage door clear of water and snow

Water and snow accumulation can cause damage to your door. As such, you should ensure gutters keep water away from the garage door. Once winter starts, you should try to remove snow as quickly as possible from the garage door. This will prevent snow from thawing and then refreezing and potentially damaging your garage door.

Getting your home ready for winter is an important part of homeownership. And door maintenance should be a regular part of this routine. By following these five easy steps, you will ensure your garage door will last for years to come. For any maintenance or repair issues, contact Les spécialistes des portes Exitech inc. today.