Maintenance is good for your vehicle and it’s good for your garage door and garage door opener, too

Hopefully, you do a good job of maintaining your car, SUV or pickup truck. If you do, it probably rewards you by running well and not breaking down often, if at all. But, if you don’t maintain that expensive vehicle it can rebel cause a serious pain in the wallet, as well as other places.

It’s surprising, however, how many people who are diligent about maintaining their car, SUV or pickup truck have no idea that their garage door and garage door opener deserve the same kind of diligent maintenance.

With your car, SUV or pickup truck, maintenance starts with oil changes, rotating the tires, checking the belts and hoses, winterizing the vehicle when winter approaches and preparing the vehicle for summer when winter is over.

With your garage door, maintenance includes oiling the hinges, rollers and tracks. It also includes looking for damaged rubber gaskets and seals, checking for gaps in the springs and gunpowder-like residue near the hinges.

Maintaining the garage door opener includes checking wire connections for corrosion, checking the force adjustments and the alignment of the beams and safety eyes. Checking the force adjustments is crucial since this is more than just a matter of extending the life of smooth operation of the garage door; it’s also a safety matter.

If the force adjustment is not set right, if the garage door comes down on the car, it could damage the car rather than reversing course as designed. And if it comes down on someone’s head, such as a youngster, it could cause injury because the force adjustment isn’t set correctly.

Have a dent or scratch in your car because the garage door opener wasn’t set right is maddening. Having someone you care about hurt because the settings are wrong is beyond maddening.

If someone maintains their vehicle, not only will they avoid breakdowns, they’ll also save money on the cost of operating their car, SUV or pickup truck. Maintenance will extend the life of the engine and other mechanical parts of the vehicle. And those unnecessary repairs are often costly.

The same holds true for the garage door and garage door opener. If you maintain your garage door and garage door opener you’ll have years of trouble-free service from them. If not, you’ll spend money you wouldn’t otherwise have to spend.

Inspecting your Antioch Garage Door is a very good idea that could save you money

It can pay dividends for Antioch homeowners to inspect their garage doors. 
It can also ensure that the garage doors operate safely.

To maintain safety and effectiveness of your Antioch garage door and your garage door opener, it is recommended that you conduct regular, routine inspections. Most homeowners can do this themselves. If you feel uncomfortable doing it yourself, or you are uncertain what to look for, don’t hesitate to call in a trusted garage door professional. They can perform this service on your behalf. However, this guide should help you conduct your own inspection.

The best time to do an inspection in Antioch is during the warmer months. It’s simply not as convenient in the winter when the weather can make it uncomfortable for you while affecting the way the garage door operates. Perform this as you handle your annual maintenance of oiling and lubing the garage door assembly, another good idea mentioned in an earlier article. Doing this once a year suffices unless performance of the garage door falters, or noises give you cause for concern.

Key things to check in a garage door inspection:

• Look for gunpowder-like residue near hinges
• Check for cracked or damaged rubber parts and seals
• Check for gaps in springs
• Check the balance of the garage door
• Check force adjustments
• Check beams and safety eyes
• Don’t worry – below you’ll find an explanation of the points above.

A black powdery residue that looks like gunpowder will appear just below the hinges when something wears excessively. This indicates that something no longer works properly and is wearing down the metal parts. This is a situation where it is absolutely better to contact a professional.

Flexibility matters with the rubber parts in your garage door assembly, such as the seals along the bottom and sides of your garage door. If they feel hard or brittle, they need to be replaced. Wear and replacement of this part is a normal process. Most homeowners can do this repair themselves.

As springs get worn, you will notice gaps in the spring. This means that they need to be replaced. This is more noticeable on extension springs than on torsion springs. However, even a worn garage door spring is loaded with enough pressure to seriously hurt someone who doesn’t know how to replace the spring. CONTACT A PROFESSIONAL garage door technician for anything to do with your garage door springs.

Refer to your owner’s manual for instructions on how to check the force adjustments.

Most of the garage door and garage door opener repairs found during these inspections can be handled by a homeowner. If anything feels too hard or if it is something you just don't want to deal with, once again, call a garage door professional.

These repairs are better handled by a professional to ensure safety and performance:

• Spring replacement
• Adjusting spring tension
• Door balancing
• Resetting force adjustment

Routine garage door and garage door opener inspections can increase the effectiveness and safety of garage door operation and help reduce utility costs in Northern Illinois. In the process, you can extend the life of the garage door and garage door opener.

Garage Doors are designed to reverse direction – you should check your Antioch garage door’s reversal function

Homeowners in Antioch should check the reversal function of their garage door opener about once a month. That may seem excessive as, for most people, once the garage door is setup, they assume they can forget it. Considering that this is the most crucial safety feature of your garage door, a feature than can prevent your child or pet from being crushed, it’s not something to take lightly.

All garage doors have bolts at the top and bottom that are set to prevent them from crashing into the floor or the header. But, these bolts are the last resort, not the preferred method to stop for the motion of your Antioch garage door. Mechanically, limits are set. When the garage door reaches these limits it stops. When these limits aren’t functioning properly, the garage door reaches the bolts putting more wear on the garage door and the garage door opener.

When testing the reversal function of your garage door, check the movement up and down. You should reverse the garage door’s motion if you encounter resistance in either direction.

Testing your garage door’s reversal function is fairly easy

To test the downward reversal:

• Set a 2X4 stud flat on the floor below the door (to ensure that your door can reach about an inch and a half from the floor for this test).
• Use your remote to close the door.
• When the door reaches the board, it should reverse and start going back up.

To test the upward reversal:

• Close the garage door.
• Grab hold of the handle and push your remote to open the garage door while holding down on the handle.
• The garage door will start to rise.
• Once it encounters enough resistance from your grip on the handle, it will reverse and return to its closed position.
• The normal amount resistance required to trigger the reversal function is about 10 pounds of pressure.
•  If you want greater safety, you can change the setting to about five pounds of pressure.

These tests apply to both mechanical and electric garage door openers. If you have an electric garage door opener, you can test the reversal function anywhere in the raising and lowering cycle. The system checks the amount of pressure through the entire movement of the garage door. Five to 10 pounds of pressure, depending on your settings, will be enough to reverse the movement of the garage door.

Refer to your manual for instructions on how to set the reversal limit. If it is unclear or you feel uncomfortable with the process, contact a garage door professional for help.

Remember to do this on a regular basis - at least once a month - to keep your garage door safe for you, your children and your pets.