One of the most annoying things to hear before you back out into your driveway in the morning is a creaking, squeaking, squealing, clicking, or groaning noise emanating from your garage door. Many people put up with this veritable ruckus, and justify this with not having “enough time” to look into it. However, it is imperative to maintain your garage door in peak condition if you want it to perform well and last long. Add to this the fact that by introducing lubrication, you can easily get it to function silently, and you would definitely be inclined to roll up your sleeves and get started.
The Benefits of a Well-Lubricated Garage Door
- The first main upside to keeping your garage door well lubricated is that it would function smoothly as well as silently.
- Many of the moving parts wear down over long use, and this happens due to friction between surfaces. Since lubrication minimizes friction by providing a protective barrier, it also ensures the parts of your garage door last longer, putting off the need for garage door repair.
- By essentially covering them up from the elements, lubrication effectively protects the surfaces of your garage door parts from rust and corrosion.
Setting Up
Before you begin, make sure the garage door is working right. Check for any worn or broken parts, and then pull the emergency cord to disengage the door opener. After that you should be able to easily lift and move the door. If it feels too heavy, or does not budge when you try lifting it, then noise is not the only problem you have on your hands. Call a garage door repair technician and get a full inspection done.
After ensuring the garage door works fine, you can start lubricating the moving parts. Dig up the manual and read through to get a basic idea of what parts your particular garage door has. As for the lubricant, you would need to apply the right product to each part.
Garage Hinges
Apply a tiny bit of oil on each hinge, focusing on the parts which move when the door is operated. The top and bottom brackets will need to be lubricated as well, and here too, you only need to apply a small amount of oil.
Garage Rollers
Rollers generally need little lubrication, so based on the type of roller your garage door has, do the following.
- Steel rollers with no coverings: Apply a small amount of oil on the ball bearings, and nowhere else.
- Black nylon rollers with no ball bearings: Apply a small amount of oil in the space between the shaft and the rollers.
- Steel rollers wrapped in white nylon: This type of roller requires no lubrication whatsoever, because the ball bearings are completely sealed.
Garage Springs
Whether your garage door uses a torsion spring system or an extension spring, you would need to regularly lubricate the latter to keep it in working order. The steel coils in a garage door spring produce most of the friction here unless there is enough lubrication to minimize it. With that, your garage door would function without so much as a peep.
The procedure is fairly simple: beginning at the top, add a tiny bit of oil to the spring, and then rub it all over using a cloth. When you are done, wipe off the excess so there will not be any dripping. You would need to do this before humid weather sets in, mainly because it invites rusting onto the steel components.
Garage Tracks
For the tracks, you can apply small amounts of oil to each horizontal section, and leave it for the rollers to spread when they move.
Other Areas
Following are the two main components you need to check besides the ones mentioned above.
- The solid shaft supporting the torsion spring: To this, you will need to apply a small bit of oil, specifically on the anchor plate placed above the door.
- Drum coils and lift cables: These are important as well, but they do not need to be lubricated.
Garage Door Openers
Under garage door openers, you have two main types: belt drive and chain drive. A belt drive opener does not require greasing, assuming original installation was done properly and included application of white grease to all the right parts, such as the drive sprockets. If this is the case, then you need not add further lubrication.
Chain drive openers, on the other hand, need to be lubricated as often as twice yearly. It is best to use white grease, covering the entire length of the chain. The latter will vary based on your specific chain drive; it could be a complete chain, or one attached to a steel cable. After applying the grease, wipe off the excess to prevent dripping.