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.