Why Your Garage Door Needs Lubricant
Have you noticed your garage door has become noisy as it opens and closes? Do you believe that the groaning, banging and screeching is just what garage doors do? This is a common attitude among homeowners with noisy garage doors. They simply learn to live with the noise because they think this is normal.
In fact, these noises are a warning that the garage door is in need of lubrication. Once that noisy garage door is properly lubed, the quiet will return. It is important, however, to use the right lubricant on your garage door and its parts. Using the wrong type of lubricant could mean damaging the garage door system.
The Right Garage Door Lubricant is Key to Garage Door Health
Several parts of your garage door require frequent lubricating. The springs, rollers, tracks and hinges all need some attention once every few months to keep the garage door functioning smoothly — especially garage doors in the Louisiana climate.
When lubricating your garage door, you want to take note of these parts:
• The Garage Door Tracks Start by cleaning the tracks with a rag to eliminate any build-up that might be interfering with your door’s glide. Ensuring that the tracks are clean is essential to the door’s functioning properly. The tracks do not need to be lubricated, just cleaned.
• Garage Door Springs Use lubricant on the garage torsion springs that lift your garage door. You only want to lubricate them enough that they move better, but not so much that you find yourself cleaning up a dripping mess.
• Garage Door Hinges Lubricate steel hinges at their pivot points.
• The Roller Bearings If your rollers have nylon wheels that make contact with the track, make sure to only lubricate the bearings without getting any lubricant on the nylon. You do not need to be as careful with metal rollers, but again, use only enough as necessary without causing dripping.
Once you have all your garage door parts properly lubricated, lift and close the door several times to ensure that the lubricant is distributed. If you still hear noise coming from your door, follow that sound to determine if you simply missed a moving part or if it’s time to call in a specialist to correct the problem.
Choosing the Right Lubricant
Whatever you do, don’t spray WD-40 on your garage door parts. At Acadiana Garage Doors we have a heavy duty garage door lubricant that we recommend. Give us a call today at 337-981-3670. By using this lubricant on your door several times throughout the year, you can help keep your door moving smoothly!
