Winter is long gone in Iowa, and summer will be here before we know it. Spring is the perfect time to perform home maintenance on your garage door to make sure it’s in good shape. Take care of anything that could have gotten out of whack over the winter and make sure things are running smoothly. Here’s a checklist of maintenance tasks and inspections you can perform monthly to make sure your garage door stays in tip-top shape.

If you’re uncomfortable performing any of the following tasks yourself, contact a professional garage door technician to do them for you. If you do feel comfortable enough, let everyone at home know you will be working on the garage door to avoid possible injury.

Monthly Maintenance

Note: If your garage door was manufactured after January 1, 1993, it is required to be equipped with a reverse mechanism and photo eye sensors. If your system does not have either of these, it should be updated.

  1. Visual Inspections: With the door closed, stand inside your garage facing the door to do some visual inspections. Check all cables, springs, rollers, pulleys, and hinges for signs of damage and wear. Is anything fraying or loose? If it seems that something isn’t working properly but you’re not sure what the problem is, give your garage door repairman a call.
  1. Door Balance Test: Shut your garage door, pull the emergency release handle, and then try to lift up the door manually. Is it easy or difficult to lift up and open? It should open for you fairly easily, and once it’s open, it should remain open. If your door feels heavy and/or doesn’t stay up when you let go when it’s halfway open, it’s probably out of balance. Call your technician.
  1. Safety Reverse Mechanism Test: With your garage door open, place a 2×4 piece of wood on the ground, centered beneath your door. Push the button to close the garage door, and watch as the door goes down. It should begin to reverse as soon as it makes contact with the wood. If it does, your door passed the test! If not, call a technician to service your garage door because something is wrong.
  1. Photo Eye Test: Grab a rake, broom, or another long object, and then push the button on your remote so it begins to close. As the door is coming down, wave your object near the ground under the door to break the photo eye beam. As you do this, the door should instantly begin to reverse. If it doesn’t, try wiping off the photo eyes with a soft cloth, and try the process again. If it still doesn’t work, your photo eyes may be out of alignment. Adjust them so they align. If this doesn’t fix the problem, call your garage door technician.

Semi-Annual Maintenance

You should lube the hinges, tracks, and rollers of your garage door twice a year. Read our previous blog post, “Does Your Garage Door Pass the Test?” to learn how to do this correctly and effectively.

Iowa Garage Door Repair

If you need help with any of these tests, or if you’ve already performed them and your door didn’t pass, call WD Door at 515-519-3557. We can come out to your home and make any necessary repairs. If you’re interested in updating your garage door this year, and you live in Iowa, ask us for a quote!