Maintenance is the key to your Lindenhurst garage door opener’s durability

Maintaining your Lindenhurst garage door opener
will save you money and aggravation in the long run.

How long should you expect your garage door opener to last at your Lindenhurst home? As with other mechanical equipment, garage door openers won’t last forever. Eventually, they give up the ghost.

If you try to gauge the life expectancy of your garage door opener based on the warranty, you won’t find that information inspiring. Most garage door opener warranties are for about three years. Most of the folks in Lindenhurst don’t want to run out to the store every three years to replace their garage door openers.

The good news is that garage door openers generally last substantially longer than their warranties. In fact, you can probably expect your garage door opener to last at least 15 years and, possibly, as long as 30 years. That’s far more comforting.

Fortunately, you’re not merely at the whim of chance when it comes to how long your garage door opener will last. In other words, there is something you can do about it.

What can you do about the durability of your garage door opener? Maintenance is the key. As Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Maintaining your garage door opener includes replacing the batteries and light bulbs periodically. You should also replace the batteries in your remote control (be sure to unplug the garage door opener before performing any maintenance). When replacing the bulbs in the garage door opener, it’s recommended that you use the factory recommended bulbs.

You should also check the tension of the chain or belt that the garage door opener uses to drive the garage door up and down, depending on which style of garage door opener you have.

Keeping the garage door opener clean is a good thing, too. That policy also works for the garage door mechanism in general. Cleaning the tracks, wheels and other parts of the garage door opener can pay dividends in terms of allowing your garage door opener to last to its maximum potential lifespan.

Lubrication is also imperative if you want your garage door opener to last longer. Look at it this way; if you don’t maintain, clean and lubricate your garage door opener and garage door mechanism regularly, your garage door opener will have to work harder to raise and lower the garage door. The more it has to strain, the earlier you’ll find you need a new garage door opener on your Lindenhurst garage.

Salem, WI, garage door doesn’t have to open slowly

It’s not such a big deal when they’re headed out to the PM&L Theatre for a show but, when they have to get to work on time, or get the kids to Salem Grade School before the bell, there’s no time to waste. Unfortunately, their garage door and garage door opener seem to be conspiring to waste their time.

Did it happen suddenly one day? Probably not. More likely, it was a gradual process where, little by little, their garage door simply took longer and longer to open. Eventually, it took so long to open that they couldn’t help but notice the difference.

When they were new, the garage door opener cranked up the garage door in no time at all. It happened so quickly they didn’t really think about it. They’d push the button and, while they were otherwise preparing to leave, the door finished rolling up in its tracks. Now, when all seatbelts are clicked and doors are closed and locked, and the car is started, they look up to discover that the garage door is only half the way up. They sit in the car and watch impatiently as it continues its journey.

There are several possible culprits behind the slowing of their Salem, WI, garage door, including worn springs or pulleys and belts. It may require needed adjustments to spring tension or the speed setting on the garage door opener. The door may also require lubrication to free up hinges and rollers for ease of travel.

You may find some Do-It-Yourself videos online that will provide instructions on how to improve the speed of your garage door yourself. However, it’s essential to remember that the springs used with your garage door are under extreme tension and have the potential to cause serious injury or even death if something goes wrong while you’re adjusting your garage door. It’s highly advisable that you have a professional work on your garage door.

Annual maintenance of your garage door and garage door opener will help you avoid ever discovering that your garage door is opening slower. Maintenance will help keep it moving free, clear and efficiently.

Salem, WI, is a great place to live. There’s a lot to do in and around Salem. You don’t want to spend your time waiting for your garage door to open.

Why would your Lake Villa garage door jam?

Garage doors are designed to go up and down. With garage door openers, the process is, for homeowners in Lake Villa, such as you, is virtually effortless. But, the frustration can be monumental if your garage door is jammed somewhere between opened and closed.

You may find that you can’t open the garage door and you can’t close the garage door. It’s as though someone built a partial wall in the front of your Lake Villa garage. You can’t get the car in and out, and you can’t keep unwanted animals or criminals out. It’s upsetting.

Of course, proper maintenance of your garage door and garage door opener can go a long way to avoiding this unpleasant scenario. But, simply put, mechanical things sometimes break. The question is, ‘What could cause this kind of problem with your garage door?’

There are several possible causes when a garage door is jammed, such as:

• You have a broken garage door spring: If you have a torsion spring, located above the garage door on a rod extending from one side of the door to the other, you may see a space in the middle of the spring. This means that the torsion spring has broken. If you have extension springs on both sides of the garage door, you may find that one of the springs is broken (DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FIX THIS YOURSELF! The pressure from these springs is tremendous and can cause serious bodily harm or, even, death. Be sure to call a professional).
• The garage door is off the track: If this is the problem, you’ll probably see rollers on the sides of the garage that are not in the tracks. You may even be able to put them back in the track. The problem is that they’re liable to come out of the track again. The trick is to determine why they came out of the track so you can avoid the same problem at a later date.
• Something is jammed into the track: Could a broom handle have fallen into the track and jammed into a roller? Anything that gets wedged into the garage door can cause this kind of problem. Once again, be careful while examining your garage door. Severe pinches and cuts are possible if you’re not careful.
• The garage door opener is broken: If this is the case, you can usually free up the garage door by pulling the release cable. But, you’ll probably want to get that garage door opener fixed again.

As you can see, there are several reasons that garage doors can get jammed and neither open or close. If you maintain your Lake Villa garage door and garage door opener, you may never experience this problem. But, if you do, be sure to call in a professional before performing and significant repairs; garage door repair is hazardous if you’re not familiar with working with garage doors.

Are the rollers in your Grayslake garage coming out of their tracks?

Up and down, up and down. How many times does the garage door in your Grayslake garage go up and down? Smooth, efficient, flawlessly. The garage door is so reliable you don’t even think about it, at least, not until you notice that one of the rollers has come out of the track.

This isn’t how your garage door is supposed to act. It’s just not right. It’s worrisome. What will happen next? Will the garage door fall out of its frame and onto your car – onto you or someone you love? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

When a roller comes out of the garage door track that doesn’t mean the garage door will fall out. Most garage doors have 10 rollers. Several or all 10 rollers would have to fall out of the track before you would have to call Grayslake Fire Protection. But, it’s still problematic when rollers don’t stay in their track.

Why would a roller come out of its Grayslake garage door track?

• The track is damaged: if the track is bent, or otherwise damaged, a roller may come out of the track. Usually, if this is the case, it’s caused because something hit and damaged the track. It could happen, however, if something else is wrong with the operation of the garage door and this problem put stress on the track.
• The door is damaged: if the door is damaged this could also cause the roller to come out of the track. For instance, if there is a dent in the door it could pull away from a track so that the roller is pulled away from the track, too.
• There is dirt or something else in the track: Dirt can pull against the roller on one side of the garage door causing the door to come down unevenly. As the door tips because of the strain on one side, you may find that the door doesn’t span evenly between the tracks. One roller may not extend all the way to the track on one side and could come out of the track.
• The rollers and track may need lubrication: Just as dirt or obstructions in the track could cause the garage door to come down unevenly, a lack of lubrication can cause the same effect. The track and rollers should be lubricated to ensure that the door goes up and down as smoothly, quietly and efficiently as possible. This will put less stress on parts of the garage door and on the garage door motor.

Grayslake is a great place to live. There are beautiful homes and garages in town. But, even with a beautiful garage, maintenance of the garage door and garage door opener is critical.  It can help keep your rollers in their tracks.

Why does my Pell Lake garage door stop short of the floor

The garage door opener on her Pell Lake garage works great. It glides up and down in its tracks as though a hot knife flowing through butter. There’s only one fly in the ointment; the door stops just short of closing all the way.

In the winter, snow will blow under the door. In the summer, rain washes below the door and wets the floor for a wide area in the front of the garage. You can learn to live with it – to accept that your garage door doesn’t want to close completely – but why should you?

The garage door is supposed to go all the way down when it closes. If it doesn’t, there is something wrong; there is a reason that it won’t close properly.

There are several explanations as to why your Pell Lake garage door won’t close completely. For instance …

• You could have a problem with the safety sensors: There are safety sensors on both sides of the door. If one, or both, are damaged or worn out, you’re liable to have a problem closing your garage door completely.
• Your safety sensors are out of alignment: When aligned properly, your garage door should go all the way down. But, maybe someone kicked one of the sensors by mistake (who would kick a safety sensor on purpose?) or something else knocked a sensor out of alignment. If this is the case, the sensors need to be realigned. 
• Your garage door opener may require travel adjustment: Inside the opener casing, there are two knobs for adjusting the travel of the garage door. These may need a little tweaking so the garage door will go all the way down.
• You could have a problem with mechanical parts of the garage door: A bad gear or a binding track may stop your garage door short of its intended destination all the way down to the floor.

There are all potential problems that could keep your Pell Lake garage door from closing all the way. While you may be tempted to fix the problem yourself, you may prefer to call in a professional since there is a way to adjust the travel of the garage so thieves have a harder time breaking into your garage.

Security tip of zip tie to disable garage door emergency release is a bad idea and here’s why …

This emergency release cord is not disabled
with a zip tie. Some are in an attempt
to thwart any efforts by thieves to break
into the garage. A zip tie on the garage
door emergency release is actually a
very bad idea.

A zip tie strapped around the emergency release of a garage door opener mechanism is a tip often prescribed by those who claim they’re in the know. Yes, this can make it harder for a thief to break into your garage (fortunately, there are other ways to confront thieves) but think about the name of this device.

It’s not called the ‘convenient’ release cord. It’s not called the ‘optional’ release cord. This, usually, red cord with a handle found having down from the trolley on the drive chain, is called the ‘EMERGENCY’ release cord. This is because when you need it, you might just have an emergency.

If the power goes out, your electrically-operated garage door opener won’t work unless you have a battery backup or generator. It’s possible that, when the power went out, you would feel that your ability to get the car out of the garage is an emergency – just pulled the cord and lift the garage door by hand. But, that’s not exactly what they meant when they named this mechanism the ‘emergency’ release cord.

By emergency, the suggestion is that something or someone, valuable might be stuck under the door, such as your pet or, worse yet, one of your children. If your child is caught under the garage door you may not have time to bring a ladder over, find a cutter and cut the zip tie off your emergency release cable.

The concern is that a thief can grab the emergency release cord with a coat hanger and release the trolley from the cable. Then they’re in the garage.

So, if a zip tie is a bad idea, what can you do to ensure that your garage door is secure (doubly important if you have a garage attached to the house where they can close the garage door again and work on the door to the house unobserved)?

Below is a list of ideas to secure your garage door suggested by the International Door Association:

Is rust, or damage, causing problems for your Genoa City garage door?

This Genoa City garage door track hasn't
seen lubrication in years and rust is
beginning to build up.

The tracks on either side of your garage door guide the rollers on your Genoa City garage door panels as they travel up and down. If the tracks are bent or damaged, the rollers can hang up and cause problems with operating your garage door. Rust can also cause problems.

When new, assuming it was properly installed, your garage door rolled up and down smoothly in its tracks. The process was quiet and put a minimum of stress on your garage door opener. The process occurred almost invisibly. When you wanted to open or close the garage door, you pushed the button and didn’t even think about the garage door completing the task you had assigned. But, over time, that may have changed.

Increasingly, you notice as the garage door goes up and down. It makes more noise. It may even take longer. And, in the process, it puts additional strain on the garage door opener and all the garage door’s parts.

A badly bent or damaged garage door track may cause a garage door to get stuck. If damaged badly enough, the rollers may even come out of the track. If the latter happens, the door could fall on you or your car.

Rust can also build up inside the track to the point where inefficient operation can become stalled operation.

Fixing the rails can be problematic. If they’re bent, bending them back is often a challenge. If they’re rusted, getting the rust out is difficult if not impossible.

Damaged rails occur because, 1. Something struck the rail and caused the damage, or 2. Something else caused uneven pressure in the operation of the garage door.

The first reason that you might find rust in you Genoa City garage door rails is because they were not properly lubricated. Lubrication will keep the rollers moving smoothly while also fighting off rust.

If the humidity is high around your Genoa City garage, that’s a possible cause of rust in the rails. Or, you could have a leak that is allowing water to make its way into the tracks. While fixing any leakage is imperative, either of these issues illuminates the essential need for proper lubrication in your garage door’s tracks.

Lubricating your garage door tracks, as well as other moving parts of the garage door, includes using the proper lubricants applied in the right places and in the correct level. For this service, it’s best to call in a qualified garage door technician.