Your garage doors (or, at least, one side of them) are left exposed to the elements all year round. Through spring, summer, autumn, and winter, they have to put up with everything the British weather has to throw at them while providing a vital function for your home and garage. If you want your garage doors to operate at peak performance, you need to look after them, making sure they are well maintained.
Of course, some tasks are easier or more appropriate to perform at certain times of the year than others. In this article, we will provide you with some key pieces of advice to help you with your seasonal garage door maintenance regime:
Spring Garage Door Maintenance
Spring is a time when many of us perform our cleaning and maintenance routines across the entire house and garden. We clear up the winter waste, make sure everything has survived the cold weather intact, and do a thorough check to see that all individual parts are working as they should. Your garage and garage doors are no different.
Start by cleaning the door of any accumulated dirt, grime, and road salt from the winter. This can normally be done with a wet cloth and some soapy water. As you clean, check for signs of rust, as it often gets a foothold during the winter due to the cold, wet weather. If you’ve been looking after your door, any rust won’t have had a chance to cause too much damage, so you should be able to remove it with white vinegar or a mix of baking soda and water.
Check the opening mechanism, including all cables, tracks, runners, and casters, and remove any blockages or debris from it. For safety, use a household brush rather than attempt to clear it with your fingers. Next, lubricate any moving parts, including the hinges, cables, and runners. A quick spray of WD-40 should do the trick.
Open the door slowly, looking and listening for any sign that the mechanism is being blocked. If you have an automated garage door, open and close it using your opening fob to make sure the mechanism is working properly. Also, inspect and clean the photo-eye sensor on the inside of the garage entranceway, and confirm that it, too, is working properly.
Summer Garage Door Maintenance
While spring maintenance involves lots of little checks and touch-ups, summer is the time to undertake more major maintenance work. The longer, brighter days and improved weather make it the ideal time to give your garage door a fresh lick of paint or to perform any outstanding repairs. If you were thinking of investing in a new garage door, summer is definitely the right time to do so.
Autumn Garage Door Maintenance
With winter around the corner and the weather starting to turn, autumn is the time that you prepare your garage doors for the harsher weather. It’s your last chance to make sure everything is safe and secure and to winter-proof your garage doors.
Your first job is to make sure that you haven’t missed any signs of damage or deterioration during the summer checks. That means inspecting the door for signs of rust as well as any cracked or peeling paint. If you spot any of these, it’s important that you attend to them immediately. Not only are you unlikely to get another chance before the winter weather settles in, but that very weather is likely to cause more significant damage to your garage doors.
Another key point for inspection is your weatherstripping. These are the rubber strips that run along the edges of your garage door, forming a seal with the walls and floor. Their job is to prevent wind and rain from blowing in and causing damage in your garage, but in the winter months, they also stop vermin like mice, rats, and squirrels from seeking shelter there. If the rubber is cracked or starting to perish, replace the stripping immediately.
Give the opening mechanism another quick service in time for winter by lubricating any moving parts and testing the opening and closing mechanisms. Just as you did in the spring, do this by hand and with the electric door opener to make sure both are working okay.
Since winter generally brings blustery weather with it, you should also take time out during the autumn to tighten the hardware of your garage door—that means all screws and bolts that hold the door in place—just for safety.
Winter Garage Door Maintenance
In winter, it’s generally too cold to spend much time maintaining your garage door. Fortunately, if you’ve followed our advice for the rest of the year, it should be in safe enough hands. Should you get a flurry of snow, ice, or hail, take the time to clear it off your garage door when it is safe to do so, as the weight can put unnecessary strain on the hinges and opening mechanism. Even if you’re not using your garage much during the winter, take the time to check that it still opens smoothly every now and then. It’s better to be sure than to find out it isn’t working during an emergency.
Seasonal Garage Door Maintenance: Final Thoughts
During the course of your garage door maintenance routine, you might find something wrong with the door. It could be a significant patch of rust on the front panel, one of the torsion springs might have cracked, or your runners may have been misaligned. If you don’t have the tools or experience to handle the repair yourself, you can leave it to the professionals at PBH Garage Doors. We deliver a first-rate garage door repair service for customers throughout Kent, working quickly and efficiently to get your door operating smoothly. If the damage is particularly bad (or you just fancy a change), we also offer a full garage door replacement service.
To find out what we can do for you, call us on 01322 252 701 or 07958 326270, or send us an email to info@pbhgaragedoors.co.uk to get a free, no-obligation quote for our services.
