Maintaining your garage door and opener is essential for safety and performance. Here’s what to listen and look for.
It’s the largest moving object in your home, weighing hundreds of pounds and operating under immense tension. Yet, for most of us, the garage door is an afterthought—until it refuses to budge.
With May and June recognized as Garage Door Safety Months, now is the perfect time to check on your garage door and opener. Your garage door is a complex system of springs, cables, rollers, and tracks that requires a watchful eye to keep your family safe.
Here’s how you can look, listen, learn, and remember to ensure they are performing their best all year long.
1. Look: Do a visual inspection.
Take a moment to stand inside your garage with the door closed. Check the springs, cables, rollers, and drums for signs of wear. Are your cables fraying? Rollers binding and getting stuck in the track?
Pro tip: Clean your door seasonally with mild detergent, lubricate moving parts, and look at the track for any obstructions to prevent premature rusting, delamination, and costly repairs or replacements.
- Listen: What is your door telling you?
A healthy garage door should operate smoothly. If your door starts to jerk and you hear banging and grinding sounds, it needs TLC ASAP. These sounds often indicate abnormalities or an imbalance with the door. Do not move the door until the issue is resolved and safe for use.
- Learn: Safety is a family affair.
It’s a startling statistic, but garage doors are involved in 20,000 to 30,000 injuries every year.
- Keep fingers and bodies clear: Teach children they should not be in the garage or near the door when it is moving.
- Not a toy: Ensure wall controls and remotes are kept out of reach of small children.
- Sensor check: Clean the lenses of photo-eye sensors, check for alignment, and adjust if needed. Regularly test your reversing system by placing a 2×4 under the door. When the door comes in contact it will reverse. If it fails, contact a professional.
- Remember: Security matters.
Remember to keep your remotes secure. If you’re heading out for extended periods of time, consider using the lock mode on your wall control to prevent access, or download the myQ App on your smartphone.
The bottom line: Proceed with caution.
Maintenance isn’t just about longevity; it’s about peace of mind
If you notice or hear anything unusual, resist the urge to DIY. Call a reputable professional garage door servicer in the community for prompt attention. Above all, stay safe!
