Garage Door Maintenance Tips
Lately, Corey and I have been working on a few quick maintenance items around the house. This weekend, we took care of some garage door maintenance that we’ve been putting off. While we were at it, we also gave our garage door a quick makeover to make it a little more appealing from the street.
I wanted to share our process for taking care of our garage door because it’s really simple, but most people I know (including myself!) tend to completely forget to do it.
We haven’t spent a lot of time taking care of our garage door. It’s just one of those things we don’t put a lot of thought into! But, we’ve noticed in the last few months that the door was getting extra loud and obnoxious. We figured it was high time we do something about it. So, when 3-IN-ONE reached out and asked if we’d be interested in trying out their 3-IN-ONE® Garage Door Lube, we knew it was the perfect opportunity for us to show our garage door a little love.
Quick Tips for Garage Door Maintenance
You should be doing a few simple regular maintenance steps to take proper care of your garage door. It’s one of those simple things that might be easy to forget, but you’re really going to regret it when it suddenly stops working on you! So, here are the five simple maintenance steps we’ll be taking in the future to make sure our garage door stays operating smoothly (and quietly):
- Check & Clear the Tracks: The tracks on the side of the door can gather debris or rust over time. Do a quick inspection to make sure they’re totally clear, clean, and not rusting. You should also use a level to be sure they are aligned and straight. If they’re off, you may need to call in the pros! While you’re checking them, go ahead and apply some 3-IN-ONE Garage Door Lube. It should be applied anywhere there are moving parts.
- Check & Tighten the Hardware: The nuts and bolts that attach the door to the tracks or the garage door opener to the framing can become loose over time. This is due to the vibration of the door opening and closing multiple times a day. Do a quick inspection to make sure they’re all tight, and tighten up any that you notice are loose.
- Replace the Weatherstripping, If Necessary: You should always keep an eye on the weatherstripping at the bottom of your garage door. If it’s ripped or cracked, it’s a good idea to go ahead and replace it. It’s an easy and affordable fix that will help your garage keep a more comfortable temperature. If your garage is attached to the house, it’ll help your house stay more comfortable too! If your weatherstripping is metal (ours is!), you can apply Garage Door Lube to that as well.
- Lubricate All Moving Parts: Grab some 3-IN-ONE Garage Door Lube and spray it on all of the hinges and rollers, then wipe the excess off. This is a great way to make sure everything opens and closes smoothly and quietly! You should also apply Garage Door Lube to chain along the top, the springs, and the pulleys. Basically, anything that moves or rubs up against something else should get a good application of the lubricant. Applying lubricant to the door regularly will reduce the stress on the hardware. Overall, it will help prolong the life of your garage door.
- Clean The Garage Door: Finally, just like it’s a good idea to power wash the siding on your house once or twice a year, you should also be sure to clean the garage door as well. It’s a great way to give the whole thing a quick once-over to make sure there aren’t any cracks, rusting, or other issues. It’ll keep things looking nice too!
The whole maintenance process should only take a few minutes. It’ll help make sure that your garage door stays in good working condition for a long time. We found that applying the 3-IN-ONE Garage Door Lube made everything noticeable quieter.
Once we had the functional part of our garage all taken care of, it was time to upgrade our curb appeal a bit.
Adding Garage Door Magnets
To continue sprucing things up, we grabbed some super simple little magnetic decorative pieces for the garage door. It only cost about $50 and it totally transformed the entire front of the house. All we had to do was a bit of measuring to make sure things were level and aligned. Then, we popped them into place.
And just like that, we had (what looked like) a whole new garage door!
If you’ve got a squeaky garage door, or if you just haven’t done any regular maintenance on it lately, now is a great time to spend a few minutes checking over everything. You never realize how important garage door maintenance is until it’s too late!
I’m thinking those circle shapes you put at the top of your garage door are supposed to go above and below the “hinges” to simulate bolts.
My wife was cleaning out the garage yesterday. she found our son’s very first Christmas stocking from over 10 years ago. As she walked out of the garage, a panel broke and scared her. We called a local company and had it repaired. We decided to check our other garage doorsfor any damage. We realized it was time to replace our doors, and we are so glad we did.
Thank you for your instruction. It would have been nice to have photos of the parts to tighten and lube.
I was not aware that the tracks on the side of the door can gather debris or rust over time. My husband noticed that our garage door is not working properly, and we are looking for advice. I will call a garage door repair company to help us fix our garage door before an accident occurs.
Best tips ever for easy maintenance of garage door. Thank you for sharing it.