As Lake Villa winter passes, time for some garage door maintenance

Winter was tough on your Lake Villa garage door and garage door opener. It’s a given. It’s simply a factor of dealing with winter in these parts, even a comparatively mild winter.

The kind of cold we experience in Lake Villa makes parts of the garage door and garage door opener brittle. Parts wear differently when they’re hardened by the cold. They’re more prone to break in this condition.

There’s also the effects of snow, ice and moisture on parts of the garage door and garage door opener. The moisture that gets into bearings and the tracks that guide the garage door displaces lubricants and cause rust. Moisture can also get into the wiring of the garage door opener.

This is the reality. And after experiencing winters year after year, the wear and tear on garage doors and garage door openers is cumulative.

It wouldn’t be so bad if people maintained their garage doors and garage door openers properly. But, overwhelmingly, that’s not the case. Many people never provide appropriate maintenance for their garage doors and openers.

Some garage doors have never had a drop of new lubrication added to their rollers, hinges, bearings and drive chains. They’ve operated for years with nothing going for them except good luck.

Garage door maintenance can go a long way toward extending the life of a garage door and garage door opener. It can reduce the likelihood of parts breaking. But it does more than that.

Garage door maintenance will keep your garage door running smoothly, efficiently and quietly. Efficiently can include a garage door that goes up and down at the speed that it did when it was new. Without that maintenance, the way a pot slowly boils, you may not notice that the garage door is going up and down slower (and louder) than it used to.

It’s not a bad idea to perform maintenance on your garage door and garage door opener before winter, ensuring that everything is adjusted properly and adequately lubricated. But it’s also a good idea to maintain them after winter passes. Before winter, it’s to prepare them for the rigors of the winter to come. After winter, it’s to help them recover from the effects of the winter that has just passed.

Lake Villa is a great place to live. But there’s no denying that winters are rough. And your garage door and garage door opener can testify to that. A little maintenance will go a long way to helping them endure the worst that winter can throw at them.

Is your Twin Lakes garage door possessed?

You push the button and your Twin Lakes garage door rises to let you in or out. You push the button again and it lowers after you’ve entered or left. Well, hopefully, that’s the case. But what if that’s not what happens?

Does your Twin Lakes garage door act as though it’s possessed?

One possibility is that your neighbor is a practical joker and has hacked into your garage door remote and is peaking out from behind the curtain snickering while you scratch your head at the trouble your garage door is having. Thankfully, most neighbors don’t have time for these kinds of shenanigans. 

A more likely answer is that there is a problem with your garage door and/or garage door opener. When your garage door is acting erratically, that’s the most likely explanation. Possession is unlikely. Of course, if it is a matter of possession, you may want to call someone from the clergy who has the expertise to provide an exorcism. 

Let’s assume that your Twin Lakes garage door and garage door opener is not possessed. What, therefore, is the specific problem with your garage door and garage door opener? There are numerous potential explanations, including:

• If the garage door opens but won’t close: You may have a problem with the garage door opener remote. Or you garage door may require limit adjustments. When it touches the floor it thinks it’s hitting someone from the family or the family dog.
• If the garage door comes off the tracks: it’s probable that your rollers are sticking. Since rollers don’t always stick evenly, the drag sticking rollers create pulls the garage door out of whack and out of the track.
• If the main spring is broken: This problem is liable to announce itself loudly. It’s extremely important that you call in a professional to deal with a broken garage door spring as replacement requires experience to avoid the possibility of serious injury.
• If you have a broken cable: you’ll probably notice that one side of the garage door is sagging.
• If the garage door won’t close: you may have dirty sensors or there is something blocking the sensors.
• If you can hear the garage door opener running but the garage door doesn’t move: a likely explanation is that the cord to disconnect the garage door opener has been pulled and you need to give it a couple tugs to reset it.
• If the garage door stops in mid travel: It’s possible that the garage door isn’t level and requires an adjustment. It’s also possible that it requires lubrication. There are different types of lubricants to use with different parts of the garage door and garage door opener. Be sure to call on a qualified garage door technician.
• If the remote doesn’t work: have you checked the batteries? If that’s not the problem, it’s likely that the remote opener needs to be synched to the garage door opener again.
• If nothing happens: First thing to check is the circuit breaker. If the circuit breaker keeps blowing, you should call in a professional. If it’s not the circuit breaker, you should also call in the pros. 

Regular garage door maintenance should keep your Twin Lakes garage door and garage door opener operating properly. But, if you do have a problem with your garage door or garage door opener, if you need help, a qualified garage door technician can put your garage door and garage door opener back in business quickly.