According to the manufacturers’ instructions the following items on the garage door and opener should be included as planned monthly maintenance tasks:
- Test the contact reverse feature on the garage door opener (see the manufacturer’s instructions for more details).
- Lubricate the garage door hardware per the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Check to make sure the safety sensors/beams are properly working according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Check to make sure the garage door is properly balanced according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Some key things to test for are the balance of your door. This tests to see if the proper amount of tension is on the springs.
To test the balance of your garage door you should start by disengaging your garage door from the opener when the garage door is in the closed position. If the garage door is not properly balanced and you release the garage door from the garage door opener in the open position the garage door could possibly close extremely rapidly causing serious injury or even death. If the garage door opener must be released from the garage door when the garage door is in the up position extreme caution should be taken to make sure nothing and no one is in the path of the garage door.
With the door in the closed position, the door should rest on the ground and not want to come up off of the ground.
Open the door about half way, the door should stay in the middle of the opening without any help, it should not want to fall to the ground, or raise any higher up.
Open the door fully, the door should remain even with the header (top of the framed opening of the garage) It should not want to sag down into the opening.
If any of these tests do not function as it should, call one of our qualified and trained service technicians to make the proper adjustments.
Test the safety sensors and the sensitivity of your garage door opener. Depending on the manufacturer the safety sensors at the base of the garage opening should be between 4 and 6 inches. Start by placing an object blocking on of the sensors, try to close the door, the door should not close. Remove the object and try to close the door, it should now close.
To test the sensitivity of the opener, place an object 1 1/2 inches tall (a standard 2×4 laid flat) on the ground where the garage door will close on it. Try to close the door. When the door hits the object it should reverse and go back up.
If either of these tests fail, call and schedule for one of our trained and qualified service technicians to come and make the proper adjustments.
You will want to lubricate your door periodically and according to the manufacturer’s instructions with a high-quality lubricant designed for use on garage doors and garage door parts. You will want to lubricate all the hinge pivot points on the garage door and also the roller stems where they go through the hinge as well. (You do not want to spray the actual wheel of a nylon roller without ball-bearings).
For garage doors with torsion springs you need to spray the bearings in the bearing plates that the spring tube goes through on either side of the garage door as well as the spring itself but be careful not to over lubricate the springs because the lubricant can drip down onto the garage door and garage floor.
For extension spring doors you will want to spray both sets of pulleys the cables run through and the springs themselves. Again, please be careful not to over lubricate the pulleys and springs so the lubricant does not drip down onto the garage floor.
For Torquemaster doors there is nothing to spray on the spring assembly since everything is enclosed in the tube itself.
If you have any questions or need someone to show you how to properly maintenance your door or you would like a free safety inspection of your garage door and opener, please call and schedule for one of our trained and qualified service technicians to come out to your residence.
