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Oil, Silicone, Chain Lube, Grease – What to Choose while Lubricating Garage Door.

We are here again to serve our readers. Before we dig deep into today’s exploration, let’s see what has happened to Jack. Who is Jack? Jack is the protagonist of our story.

Jack was ready to go to work. He opened the garage door and he noticed but ignored that something was wrong with the garage door. He took out his car and went on his way. We do the same as Jack did? We don’t pay attention towards small things but later it can be converted into a disaster. Let’s come back to Jack. Hey !!!!! Jack is here. We thought that he ignored the mishap with the garage door, but he is now all set to maintain his garage door. 

Our readers must be aware about today’s topic. 

Yes, we are going to learn about the maintenance of garage doors. Let’s be wise and alert like Jack and take care of it.

Why to maintain the garage door regularly?

Garage door works with a mechanism, which requires regular care. It has many metal parts which move around and lead to friction. The friction may cause wear to the parts and it may cause damage at the end. The parts like hinges, rollers, bearings needed to be lubricated. As we have learnt in the previous articles, every lubricant has its own characteristics and it is used in accordance with those properties. Grease, oil, silicone, chain lube – every single thing has different uses. It is used as per the requirements. In this article, we will acquire knowledge about the ways to take care and lubricate the metal parts of garage doors. 

Structure of a Garage Door: 

Let’s first understand the structure of a garage door.

It has various kinds of structures. Basic structure of it suggests that it is made of all the moving metal parts like torsion spring, torsion tube, cable, hinges, rollers, operator, bearing, drum, and many more parts. It can have a torsion spring or an extension spring. There is a track to guide a door segment. The squeaky noise in the garage door is the signal to know that it is the time to lubricate the metal parts. One can land our choice on lithium base grease or silicone based products to start with the simple act of lubricants.

How to start with:

The lubricants are easily available in various forms.

It is advisable to lubricate those parts with a sprayer as it becomes easier to reach the tiniest area in the metal parts.

  • First one can start with the hinges, pivot points and stands. The next part to get lubricated, can be rollers.

Apply spray on the rollers and the ball bearings. Some of the doors may have plastic one which do not require any lubricants.

  • There are bearing plates and pulleys which need to be maintained as it takes the maximum load and gets friction.
  • There is a mention of torsion spring which needs to be wet as coils get rubbed with one another a number of times.
  • There is a trolly which keeps on moving back and forth while opening and closing the door. This trolley is attached to a rail, apply some grease to it.
  •  The tracks can be clean, using a rag as the dirt can affect the functioning of the mechanism in the long run. Apply grease on screw drives.
  • Metal chains can be managed with lube chains.

How to inspect the garage door?

  • Have an observing ear if the garage door makes any grinding or scraping noise.
  • Check pulleys, springs, and cables. Do they look symmetrical?
  • Lots of movements of the door results in the loosening of hardware. Roller brackets and bolts are needed to be tightened with a socket wrench.
  •  The rollers are required to be changed every seven years. If they get worn, cheap or cracked, then it has to be replaced immediately.
  • There is a rubber weather seal strip on the bottom of the door. If it shows cracks and if it gets worn out, it has to be removed and needs to place the new one instead.
  • Groom your door with proper check and alertness. If it is of wood, it can be damaged with water, moist, chipped or peeling paint. Steel doors can have rust spots that need to be primed and painted. 

       

Garage door needs regular care and maintenance. It should be taken care of and lubricated every three months and it needs to be checked if any maintenance is required before that. The small parts of the garage door need to be maintained but every part can be lubricated with different kinds of lubricants. Along with lubrication, it has to be cleaned with a rag by removing dust and dirt. The garage door gets open and shut many times in a year so it has to be maintained and checked at regular intervals of time.

We hope that this article will fulfil your daily requirements of garage door maintenance and lubrication.

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