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Prepare Your Garage Door for Winter: Essential Maintenance Tips

October is here and before the onset of winter, we recommend a comprehensive garage door inspection and maintenance. No one likes to come home from a cold, long day to a garage door that struggles to open or close. Prepare now for smooth operation throughout the winter. The extreme cold will make a garage door act up or not function. Getting ahead of it is ideal for your busy days and holidays to run smoothly.

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Why Garage Door Maintenance is Essential Before Winter

Winter weather can wreak havoc on garage doors, causing them to act up or fail completely. Ensuring your door is in top shape before the cold hits is crucial. A smooth-functioning garage door helps avoid frustrating and potentially costly malfunctions, especially during the hectic holiday season.

Check Your Torsion Springs

The torsion springs of the garage door are imperative to open and close the garage door. Without the springs working properly the garage door will not open or close. Checking the springs for good balance and age is ideal. If your torsion springs are at least 7 years old, now would be a good time to look into replacing them. Torsion springs last an average of 7 years. We see people using their garage doors more than ever before now that many people work from home.

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The springs have a life cycle and once the cycle is near the end they get weak and break. If your car is in the garage and your torsion spring breaks, you aren’t able to open the garage again until the springs are replaced. A car trapped in the garage is the last thing people want to deal with when they are in a hurry to get to work or kids to school. Preemptively replacing them if they are weak and old is ideal before the extreme seasons when fatigue mixed with cold weather will make them more likely to break.

Test Your Garage Door’s Safety Features

Another great item to check is the safety features of the garage door operator. With the holidays approaching, homeowners often have extra items in the garage, from decor to luggage to having ladders out for hanging Christmas lights. It is a great time to make sure the safety reverse is working as intended on the garage door operator so that if something is accidentally left under the door the garage door reverses and does not close on the item, cause damage or come off track. 

Another safety feature is the sensors at the bottom of the garage door. To work correctly, they should both be lit up, not flashing or blinking, and see each other without any obstacles. If the garage door does not reverse as intended when closing on an object, it may come off track or damage the sections.

Inspect the Weather Seals and Gaps

The garage door also needs to close flush to the ground and not have gaps that will let in the cold. The weather strip on the bottom should be in good condition and the vinyl stop molding on the sides should cover any gaps in the garage door. The garage door may need adjustment to fit tight to the opening and seals to help keep out the extreme weather.

Consider Upgrading to a Wi-Fi Enabled Garage Door Operator

A Liftmaster Wi-Fi operator is always a great idea for the winter months so you can open the garage door on demand as packages and deliveries can easily be delivered safely and securely to your garage and avoid being left out and damaged by the elements, and avoid porch pirates.

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Consult a Professional for Garage Door Maintenance

A garage door specialist should always handle inspections and repairs. Garage doors are dangerous to work on, and minor issues can turn into major problems if not addressed by a professional. Contact us today at 919-841-0030, we’d be glad to help ensure your garage door is ready for winter.


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