Can a hot Antioch summer cause problems with your garage door and garage door opener?

Winter can play havoc with your Antioch garage door. Summer is a strain on your garage door and garage door opener, too. You might say that spring and autumn offer opportunities for garage doors and garage door openers to relax a little. It’s those other two seasons that put garage doors and garage door openers to the test.

Currently, Antioch is in the middle of another summer. Temperatures have frequently topped 90 and are otherwise hovering in the 80s. There are several factors where summer heat challenges the operation and durability of your garage door and garage door opener. For instance:

The sun beating down on your garage door: We’ve all heard the phrase, ‘It’s hot enough you can cook an egg on the sidewalk.’ Unfortunately for your garage door, the burning heat of the sun is not restricted to the sidewalk. While, at midday, the sun may not hit your garage door as directly, depending on which direction your garage door faces, there are parts of the day when the sun beats down relentlessly on your garage door.

Consider that black pavement can hit temperatures of 140-degrees under the assault of the sun. If your garage door is made of wood, the sun can dry out the wood causing cracking. Additionally, when things get hot, they expand. If your garage door is expanding from the heat, things can get a bit tight in the way the door operates. The sun can even trick the sensors for your garage door opener.

The effects of heat and humidity: The heat and humidity on a sultry summer day can cause problems with the wiring of your garage door opener, as well as the sensors. If the bearings for the wheels that roll in the channels on either side of the garage door are not properly lubricated, the heat and humidity can exacerbate the problem.

Summer storms bring power outages: Your garage door opener should be connected to a surge protector to avoid problems if there is a power outage. Summer storms in Antioch, and the lightning that often accompanies such storms, can cause problems.

Garage door maintenance and garage door maintenance are summer insurance

Timely and proper garage door maintenance can go a long way to mitigating summer-related problems with your garage door and garage door opener. Adjustments and properly applied lubricants take away much of the wear-and-tear that shorten the lives of garage doors and garage door openers.

An ounce of garage door summer-problem prevention is worth a pound of cure. Have your garage door and garage door opener maintained and this Antioch summer can do its worst and you’ll be fine.

Should you replace the garage door opener on your Burlington garage?

Experts say that a garage door opener has an average lifespan of between 10 to 15 years. Some will last longer but they generally, the garage door opener on your Burlington garage, will start to wear out after 15 years, if not sooner. Homeowners don’t always notice when the garage door is losing its oomph.

The problem is that a garage door opener may break or suddenly malfunction. In such cases, it’s obvious that the garage door opener needs replacement. But, even if there isn’t a catastrophic problem with the garage door opener, it may have gone well past its prime.

Without an obvious problem, the garage door opener will wear out slowly – so slowly, in fact, that you probably won’t notice the difference. If you were able to compare the performance of your 15-year-old garage door opener with its performance when you first had it installed on your Burlington garage, you would see the difference right away. But you won’t notice the difference between its performance yesterday and today, or on the same day last year. The change is gradual.

You can extend the life of your garage door opener. The key is maintenance. Maintenance includes properly lubricating the garage door and adjusting the garage door and garage door opener. Without maintenance, rust will attack the rollers and hinges. This will make the garage door harder for the garage door opener to open. The same is true with adjustments.

When the garage door and garage door opener are out of adjustment, the garage door opener has to work harder to do its job. Over time, the extra strain will show on the garage door opener. You may not see it. After all, the change is generally still gradual. But it’s happening anyhow. The door will take longer to open and close. It will make more noise in the process.

Obviously, if the garage door opener is worn out, if it’s past its prime, you may want to consider replacing it. But there is another reason to consider replacing a garage door opener.

Is your Burlington garage door opener a dinosaur?

Technology may have left your garage door opener behind. Are you still using a clunky old garage door opener remote control box? If so, you may find that it isn’t instantly responsive. You may have to push the appropriate button several times to activate the garage door opener. And, keep in mind that, if someone wants to get into your garage, or into your house through your garage, they can break into your car and use the garage door opener clipped to the sun visor.

The electronics on your newer garage door openers are light years ahead of the old models. Instead of clipping a clunky old remote to your visor, you can operate an app with your cell phone to control your garage door opener.

With new garage door openers, you can even close you garage door if you’re many miles away from your Burlington home.