Your garage door rollers and tracks get a whole lot of use. Over time, it’s important to keep an eye on them and engage in proper maintenance, which includes lubricating those parts on a regular basis. This prevents you from having issues with the door dragging or binding while raising and lowering, which would otherwise make it progressively more and more difficult to open and close.
We strongly encourage you to schedule annual garage door maintenance appointments with a professional technician. However, there are also some additional steps you can take yourself to keep your garage door tracks clean and oiled up. Here’s some information about maintaining your overhead doors in Rancho Cordova, CA:
- Clear the garage: Before you begin any maintenance, remove any vehicles you have parked inside, as well as any other equipment or items that might make it challenging for you to access the tracks and rollers. Once you’ve done this, close the door while you’re in the garage and set up a step ladder to inspect the rollers and tracks. Make sure you have enough lighting inside to be able to get the job done safely.
- Check for worn rollers: Examine all the rollers on the garage door, and if you see any that appear to be worn down, you should replace them. If you have metal rollers with unsealed bearings, use an old toothbrush to brush away debris and grease buildup, then wipe away with a clean rag. You can then use a silicone spray oil on the bearings. If the rollers are nylon and you have sealed bearings, then you won’t need to worry about using lubrication. Spray the lubricant into and around the roller stems instead.
- Nuts and bolts: Carefully analyze all the nuts and bolts that hold the roller hinges and track mounting brackets in place. Tighten any hardware that appears to have loosened over the course of time, and if you notice any bolts or nuts that have rusted or worn, you should be sure to replace them while you’re inspecting the system.
- Clean the tracks: Using that old toothbrush, clean out the inside of the tracks, brushing to dislodge grease, dirt and other crime. Then you can spray some disc brake cleaner on to the tracks and wipe them down with a clean rag when you’re done to remove the debris and the leftover cleaner.
- Track alignment: Check the alignment of all the horizontal and vertical tracks. You can do this by setting a level on the top of the tracks. Make sure they are slanted slightly from the opening toward the garage’s back wall. The tracks should also be hung at the exact same distance from the ceiling. Make any adjustments necessary to get the tracks in the proper position.
For more information about the steps you can take to properly maintain your overhead garage doors in Rancho Cordova, CA, we encourage you to contact the experts at Action Door Service today. We look forward to assisting you soon!