Tips for Effective Garage Door Lubrication

The garage doors are the busiest doors of any house; an average garage door opens up and shuts down about three times a day, which means thousands of time in a year. If you aren’t paying much attention to its maintenance, the system will depreciate faster than it’s due.

Provide your garage door essential maintenance, i.e. keep the inner fitting clean, lubricate, and fix the damage timely. A thorough garage door service will add life to the door and a proper maintenance will keep you from spending dollars on the repairs.

Following are some tips to consider for an effective lubrication:

Part 1: Cleaning:

Clean the inner fitting thoroughly:

Close the garage door carefully. With the help of remote or hub, shut it in a way which makes you reach all the tracks, railing and other moving parts of the door. Don’t forget to disconnect the power; you will be required to touch certain areas so make sure the current isn’t flowing in the system. In some houses, the main plug of garage door opener is placed high above the head. If you can’t reach it, turn off the main power of the house for some time.

Clean all the tracks with a sponge and soap solution. Tracks accumulate dirt and particles inside because of the unique concave shape. Wipe away all the debris you see because the rollers may stick to it. You are not required to grease the tracks but cleaning them is a must. Best move will be to use automotive brake cleaner for the tracks.

Take the persistent debris out with the help of vacuum:

If you are having issues with the stubborn debris cleaning, use a regular vacuum to get it all out. Use a hose extension to clean all the areas you can’t reach otherwise.

Part: 2: Lubrication:

Never use oil, or wd40, both will harm the inner fittings. Oil is known to attract and accumulate dirt and drips a lot since it’s a runny liquid. WD40 simply isn’t enough to provide the required lube. It is recommended to use white lithium-based grease in the garage door, you can easily find that in any hardware store nearby. If not, search online and order one for your door, one container will last for months. There are other greases which are typically designed to reach difficult places like some aerosol sprays.

Lubricate the hinges at the point where they meet the end of the track, the hinges must be completely soaked in lubricant to make the movement of the door smooth and soundless.

You are also required to lubricate the rollers, the circular moving pieces are in direct contact with the hinges, there is a small ball bearing inside each and if they are not greased properly, a possible friction will arise, damaging both parts. Nylon rollers should not be lubricated the protocol is for metal-based rollers only.

Lubricate the external part of the bearing plates as well. Stand on a step ladder and See above your head, you ‘ll find the springs which are one of the most important parts of moving mechanism, fully cover the springs with lubricant and spray the part where the springs are joined with the center of bearing plates. Once the surface is sprayed, move your garage door manually to spread the lubricant all over. If the grinding sound is still there, check to see if the springs are in proper shape. In case of a bent, have them replaced, reach the company you have got garage door installation from.

Spray the lubricant on arm bars as well.

Spray on the lock as well to make the locking process easier. The locks are prone to rusting as much as any other part of the door and most owners forget to grease the locks when they service the door themselves.

Lubricate the top part of railing. Spray the grease along the railing so that when the chain moves through it, it finds a smooth medium to glide. The chain which is responsible to carry the door through the railing usually comes with a natural protectant so greasing that part isn’t required.  In short, everything made of metal, which is contact with other metal must be cleaned and greased accordingly.