How to Prepare a Garage Door for Winter

Cold weather can be a bit rough on garage doors. To preserve the long-term condition of your garage door and ensure efficient operation all season long, it’s important to perform certain maintenance tasks. These things can help you avoid needing sudden garage door repair in Denton, TX.

Here are a few simple maintenance tasks we recommend you implement to prepare your garage door for winter.

Lubrication

One of the most important maintenance steps for garage doors is the regular lubrication of all moving metal parts. When not properly lubricated, these parts are very likely to stick when the weather gets cold. You can find spray-on lubricants sold in hardware stores, or you might be able to purchase them from garage door maintenance providers, as well. This lubricant should be sprayed on all springs, bushings, hinges, tracks and rollers. If you don’t want to do this yourself, you can have your garage door serviced by a professional; lubrication will be one of the essential steps they perform.

Weatherstripping

Your garage door opens and closes numerous times each day. Over time, it is inevitable that the weatherstripping at the bottom of the door will experience some wear and tear. When this happens, you’ll begin to experience more drafts inside the garage. If the weatherstripping starts to form cracks, cold air and moisture can get inside and potentially freeze the door shut during winter. Therefore, it’s important to regularly inspect the condition of your weatherstripping and replace it as necessary.

Cables

As part of your ongoing garage door maintenance, you should make sure to inspect the garage door cables closely. Automatic garage doors come with a series of high-tension cables that lift and lower the door. These cables are extremely strong, but they do have a shelf life, so it’s important to be on the lookout for any signs of damage, such as fraying or weakening. When these signs of damage are present, it’s likely that the cables will be susceptible to extra damage caused by the bitter cold of winter weather. These cables should always be repaired or replaced by professionals, since they have a significant amount of tension that could cause serious or fatal injuries if they snap and hit you.

Cleaning

One last simple maintenance task that is important for your garage door’s operation is to make sure the tracks, rollers, hinges and moving parts are all clean and free of debris. Cleaning is a simple step you can take right before applying new lubrication, and it will go a long way toward preventing deterioration of some of the most important parts of your garage door.

These are just a few examples of some of the maintenance strategies you can implement before winter arrives, ensuring you get the best operation out of your garage door all year long. Are you interested in learning more about the most important methods of garage door repair and maintenance for winter? If so, contact Denton Overhead Door, your local source for garage door repair in Denton, TX. We look forward to working with you!

Categorised in: Garage Door Maintenance