What would Pepé Le Pew’s Valentine say about the smell of your garage?

Poor Pepé Le Pew the lovestruck skunk. All the ladies of the forest adore him until they get close enough for a good whiff. His distinctive odor is not conducive to reeling in his special Valentine. But Pepé is not the only one with odiferous difficulties. Your Valentine my turn up his or her nose when stepping into your garage.

WHAT IS THAT SMELL?!!!

There are a number of offenders who may bring less-than-pleasant odors to your garage. And different offenders bring different odors. To track down the culprit when your garage is presenting a hint of something unpleasant, cautiously give your nostrils a try (cautiously on the chance that the odor is from something unsafe).

What are some of the common odors found in garages? The smell of …

• Gasoline
• Mold & Mildew
• Oil-Based Paints
• Household cleaners
• Other chemicals
• Natural Gas
• Pests
• Etc.

If you smell gasoline, the first thing to consider is that, if that the smell of gasoline, if in a confined area can make you ill or worse. The first thing you want to do is open the door and/or a window. DON’T light a match until you’ve done something about the origin of the smell of gasoline. 

The smell of gasoline comes, logically, from gasoline. What do you have in your garage that contains gasoline? This can include your car, gas cans, garden and snow removal equipment, such as lawnmowers and snow blowers; motorcycles, snowmobiles, boats with engines and other vehicles. Rags soaked with gasoline will also emit the odor of gasoline but would dry up after a while.

Look signs of gasoline leaking from any of these items. Check that their caps are secure and not allowing gasoline vapors to escape. Once you find the culprit, you need to fix it.

The source of odors from household cleaners, oil-based paints and other chemicals are also found by tracking down the source. Many of these are toxic in a confined area and very often flammable. They can even prove explosive given the right conditions. Along with tracking down the source, you want to be very careful about what you store in your home and garage.

Natural gas will generally come from a furnace or hot water heater in your garage. If you smell natural gas, it’s probably best to call the gas company to come out, locate the leak and fix it.

Pests can build nests, bring edible items in that might decay, and use your garage as a bathroom. All of these activities can cause odors. Beyond orders, nesting pests can also cause damage to the structure of your garage.

Fortunately, it’s not likely that an odiferous garage will chase your Valentine away. Of course, if one of Pepé Le Pew’s cousins takes up residence in your garage, your Valentine may run anyhow.

How important is maintenance of your Spring Grove garage door?

There’s no denying it - winters in Spring Grove are cold and snowy. Some winters are colder and/or some bring more snow. But, if you live in this part of Northern Illinois, you just can’t hide from winter. Neither can your garage door.

Winter provides additional challenges for your garage door. The snow and ice are often invasive. They get into places in your garage door where their presence isn’t, shall we say, appreciated. 

The snow and ice can work its way in to the hinges where the garage door panels are joined. They can get into the bearings, rollers and tracks that guide the garage door up and down. In the process, they impede the ability of these parts to effectively do their jobs. They make it harder for the garage door opener to operate the garage door. At the same time, moisture from the snow and ice cause more wear and tear on the parts of your garage door and opener.

The cold is equally problematic for your Spring Grove garage door and garage door opener. Cold has a ‘funny’ effect on hardened components. It tends to make them more brittle, less flexible and less resilient in the face of hard wear that they experience during the operation of your garage door and garage door opener.

Some of the critical parts that are most affected by the cold, particularly bitter cold temperatures, include:

• Tracks
• Rollers
• Bearings
• Hinges
• Torsion Springs

Living in Spring Grove, there’s not much you can do about the snow and ice or the cold. Winter comes to the region and the cold, snow and ice come with it. But that’s not to say there's nothing you can do.

The solution is to increase your garage door’s ability to withstand the effects of the cold, ice and snow. This is achieved with 'maintenance.'

Garage door maintenance refers to adjusting the garage door, sensors and garage door opener so they operate at their maximum efficiency. Garage door maintenance also refers to applying lubricants to ward off the effects of the cold, snow and ice while you operate the garage door.

Lubricating components of the garage door begins with cleaning away rust and debris. The lubricants are applied next. Different lubricants are used in different areas. A qualified garage door technician will know how to adjust and lubricate a garage door and garage door opener so that the effects of a Spring Grove winter are minimized.