How to Prevent a Squeaky Garage Door This Summer

With the summer truly started, your garage door is sure to be getting some more action after its long winter off. With that in mind, the last thing you want to deal with is a door that squeaks unbearably every time you open it. Luckily for you, there is an excellent DIY process that can help silence the squeaks in most cases, allowing you to enjoy full access to your door — without earplugs! If you find your door is still squeaking after performing these easy steps, the sounds may be indicative of a more severe problem, and contacting a local garage door expert can help you replace or repair your door, as needed.

Give Your Door the Once-Over

Most of the mechanisms that could be squeaking are located higher up on your door, so you’ll need a ladder for this step. Have a friend climb up on the ladder while you carefully open the door from below (or vice versa). If you have an automatic opener, do not complete this step by yourself — you do not want to be standing too close to the automatic door without someone else around. Try to see if you can locate the cause of the squeaking — whether it is your springs, wheels or rails — by observing as the door opens and closes. Whether you’re able to locate the culprit or not, make a note of where the sound is originating from. This is also a great time to see if there is anything wrong with your door — a broken wheel or spring, a warped panel, etc. Many homeowners take their garage doors for granted, and rarely inspect them: this will give you a chance to take inventory.

Check Your Hinges

As with any other door, your garage door’s hinges are one of the most common suspects when it comes to annoying squeaks. Your socket wrench can help you tighten up loose hinges, which will help you avoid squeaks — and serious damage! — in the future. That way, even if your hinges aren’t causing the problems this time, they won’t cause trouble in the future. As with many other steps in this process, keeping your hinges in good condition is a pillar of garage door maintenance, and can be done anytime, regardless of squeaks.

Lubricate

Clean off any metal parts of your door — rails, hinges, springs and tracks — that have become rusty or dirty. A solvent can go a long way towards getting rid of rust and corrosion, and spraying some on the metal parts of your door every couple of months is excellent preventative care for future problems. Then, after you’ve cleaned these parts, hit them with some garage door lubricant. Don’t forget to get your door’s chain as well: like any chain, this is prone to rusting and gumming up over the years.

For your first round, get all the moving metal parts of your door where the squeaking could originate from — even if you’re pretty sure of the source already. If you’re still squeaking, hit the problem areas with some extra lubricant, then see where that takes you. As with the previous steps, lubricating your door is good practice, and will prevent lots of issues for the future.

Clean Up

If your door is squeak-free, swab off any excess lubricant with a rag and get everything put away. Remember to continue using these methods on your door for the future, as they’ll often extend the lifetime and functionality of your door.

Still Having Trouble?

When you’re running the diagnostic on your door, you may notice something is seriously off. Whether you have a broken spring or a bent rail, a bit of professional garage door repair can get you fixed up and save you a ton of garage repair money down the line. Affordable Garage Door Inc. has provided the region with excellent garage door repair and replacement services for many years, and we can give you a hand with anything related to your garage door. Reach out today!