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Taking care of the garage door can help you prevent a lot of expensive issues along the way. There are some simple issues that you can solve yourself like fixing a garage door remote that doesn’t work. But other more complicated problems can be avoided if you take proper care of the garage door system. Here are the actions you can take to help your garage door system last longer:
Check the springs and cables
It is recommended to take a long at the springs and cables every once in a while. Doing so can help you spot early signs of rust on the parts. Leaving rust on the springs and the cables will compromise their strength and shorten their lifespan.
If you spot other damages like frays on the cables, you should call a local garage door repair company to take care of the issue before it becomes a more serious & costly problem.
Clean the track
Checking the tracks for the accumulation of rust and dust will help the door to run smoothly. The amount of dust and other parts that can enter the tracks is surprisingly large, and when left unchecked can sometimes cause the door to go off-track.
Lubricate the roller
Rollers should be lubricated and inspected at least every six months. Not taking care of the rollers will shorten their lifespan from 5-7 years to only a couple.
Check the safety mechanism (sensors and limit switch)
There are 2 safety mechanism that your garage door has that keeps you and your loved ones safe -> Safety sensors and the limit switch. This is how you can check them from time to time:
- Safety sensors
Place an object in the path of the garage door panel. Technically, the normal response would be for the panel to retract and prevent further lowering. If you have a problem with the sensors here is a garage door opener troubleshooting guide.
- Limit switches
Testing the limit switch can be tricky and not really necessary, but if you want to do it, you will need to disable the safety sensors and put an object under the door to see If it will reverse automatically when it hits it. However, this method is not recommended as it can cause problems to the door if not done right.
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