6 Helpful Tips for DIY Garage Door Maintenance in Houston, TX

A garage door can last between 15 and 30 years. Why the huge range? 

The quality of the materials you choose is an important factor, as is how well you take care of your garage door.

Regular garage door maintenance in Houston, TX, doesn’t always mean having to call in a professional. There are plenty of DIY garage door maintenance tasks that you can do to keep your door in great shape. Check out the best ones below!

1. Keep an Ear Out

When you pull into your driveway turn the music off, roll the window down, and listen to what your garage door sounds like when it’s opening. If you become familiar to what it usually sounds like, you’ll notice when something is off. Unusual sounds can serve as an early alert that your door needs some TLC or garage door services. Early alerts usually mean less expensive fixes — which is always a good thing.

2. How’s It Rolling?

As part of a biannual garage door maintenance schedule, you should inspect the rollers. Cheap rollers don’t last very long and will need to be replaced often. If you see any chips or cracks in the rollers or notice they are worn, it’s time for garage door replacement. Metal rollers also wear quickly, getting rusted, bent or stop rolling. Depending on use, this may be about every 5 to 7 years unless you replace it with quality nylon rollers which last significantly longer.

3. Check Out the Cables and Pulleys

When you’re looking at the rollers, be sure to take a peek at the cables and pulleys. These attach to the garage door springs and ensure that the door can be lifted and lowered safely.

These parts are high-tension and you can get hurt if you don’t know what you are doing so don’t mess with them. Simply inspect them and call a professional garage door maintenance company if you notice a problem that requires garage door installation. 

4. Tighten It Up

Your door creates a significant amount of vibration as it goes up and down. Considering that the average garage door is opened about 1,500 times per year, it’s not surprising that parts can become loose. Go through with a socket wrench and tighten up the bolts on the roller brackets and any other loose bolts you find. 

5. Is It Balanced?

An off-balance garage door will put extra strain on your garage door opener system because it has to work harder to pull up the door. Finding out if it is balanced is easy, simply pull the release to disengage the door opener. Manually open the door about halfway. If the door is properly balanced, it will stay there. If it doesn’t, call our garage door company because the springs need adjustments; handling them is dangerous if you are not experienced.

6. Check the Weatherstripping

The weatherstripping helps keep climate-controlled air in your garage, which helps cut down on your energy bills. It also protects your door from moisture getting in where it shouldn’t. Replacing the weatherstripping is an easy DIY task and will help extend the life of your door.

DIY Garage Door Maintenance For the Win!

Bet you didn’t know that DIY garage door maintenance could be so easy. With just a few minutes you can help prolong the life of your door, which saves you money. 

If you end up needing professional help, don’t hesitate to contact us here at Ohana Garage Door for garage door repair in Houston, TX. We’ll get you fixed up quickly! You know you wanna, call Ohana! You can also fill out our online form to schedule an appointment.