Maintenance Tips For Your Garage Door
When you look at all the functions that the garage door performs, it seems deceptively simplistic. Push the button, the door goes up. Push the button, the door goes down. There’s a motor, some tracks, some springs, and they all work together to perform a very simple task.
The ease of pushing a button to either open or close the garage gives a feeling that garage doors can’t really be that dangerous. The truth is, they have the potential to cause some serious damage if you become complacent and neglect garage door maintenance or even during what may seem to be a simple garage door repair.
Honestly, you shouldn’t try to repair a garage door that is broken, unless you have experience. This is especially true if the repair has anything to do with the garage door springs, as they hold a huge amount of potential energy that if not handled properly, could result in severe injury, and in some cases, death.
Although major repairs, such as replacing the torsion springs, sections, cables and rollers, should be left to the professionals; as a Gilbert homeowner, you should conduct regular garage door maintenance. This should include inspections that could spot potential problems before they become too serious. Along with these visual inspections, there are several tasks that you can perform as scheduled maintenance to help keep your garage door and garage door opener working properly.
Here is a list of regular maintenance items that every homeowner should perform on a regular basis:
Ensure Proper Lubrication
Having a loud, squeaky garage door is something that is both annoying and unnecessary. However, you need to make sure that you are using the correct lubrication on your garage door. WD-40, although good for many things, is not designed to be a long-term lubricant. The improper use of lubricants can attract dirt and debris, which can build up and interfere with the garage door’s proper functioning. Instead, for a garage door lubricant, you should use silicone-based or white lithium spray on your garage door’s moving parts, such as the springs, hinges, and rollers..Clean The Track
Contrary to common thought, garage door tracks do not need grease or lubrication, and in some cases, can cause more harm than good. I usually tell my customers that have put a lot of thick grease in the tracks, hoping to help the door run smoother, that it’s like trying to drive your vehicle through mud. Best scenario for your car to run smooth is driving on a clean paved road. The same principle can applies to your garage door.Garages are naturally dusty. Dust, dirt, and debris can sometimes build up in your horizontal garage door tracks. Using a cloth to wipe in the track will take care of most of the build-up and help your garage door run smoothly.
Replace Weather Seals
Weather seals are the soft plastic or rubber material along the bottom of your garage door and the sides and top of the garage door opening. Their purpose is to press against the floor and door jambs inside your garage to keep dirt, air, and water out of the garage. When the material becomes worn, it loses its effectiveness performing this task. The longevity of these materials is climate dependent, the direction your house faces, and can range from five to ten years.Replacing the garage door bottom seal is one of those garage door repairs that you can do yourself if you are familiar with basic tools. Along the bottom of the garage door, there is a track that the material slides into called the retainer. If you cut off a short piece of old bottom seal (astragal), you can go to your local garage door supplier to make sure you can get a new seal to fit your door. Some bottom seals have been discontinued and will require a new retainer in order for the garage door bottom seal to attach to your garage door correctly.
Pro Tip: After you have removed the old garage door bottom seal, wipe the retainer off with a rag to remove dirt and debris. Grab your can of garage door lubricant with a straw, and spray the lube in the two channels that hold the bottom seal in. Have a second person help you pull the seal into the channels as you feed the seal into the retainer. This will save you a lot of time and frustration!
Having a hard time with it or don’t want to bother with it at all? Just give us a call!
Realign the Garage Door Sensors
The garage door safety sensors are an essential part of any garage door opener system. These sensors can be found attached to the vertical tracks near the bottom of the tracks (see UL-325). Because of their location, they can be easily bumped by a bicycle tire, a box, or kicked by kids playing, which can cause them to misalign. When not properly aligned, the sensors will keep the garage door from closing.A pair of garage door sensors will have indicator lights (usually one will be either a red or amber color, and the other will be green) that will change when the signal is interrupted. Try interrupting the signal using your hand and note the change in the indicator lights. If you know that the sensors are in proper alignment, yet they don’t seem to be working properly, try to clean the sensors with a damp cloth. Sometimes, something as small as a spider web can interrupt the signal enough to cause disruption.
Reset the Garage Door Opener
Another potential solution for getting your garage door to work again is resetting the opener and replacing the batteries in the garage door remote. If replacing the batteries in the remote doesn’t work, then proceed with resetting the opener. This can be done by holding down the learn button for over 6 seconds. For your specific make and model, consult the user manual for reset instructions.
If you have any questions about any of the suggestions listed above, or have found damage during your inspections that you think may warrant a garage door replacement or professional garage door repair, please contact Same Day Garage Door Services. You can call or text us at 480-750-7975 to schedule your appointment today.
Trevor L.
Oct 23, 2025
