It
only makes sense to make the most of what we have and try to keep it as well
maintained as possible. This holds especially true with a major component of
your home. That’s why one of the things we do at the Garage Door Place is to
help our clients know and understand how to keep up their doors so that they
run into little or no problems in the future.
There
are four components to be concerned with when lubricating your garage door and
they are as follows:
Motor Rail
The
best type of grease to use in these areas is the thicker variety. Using a
thinner lubricant like WD40 is counterproductive for motor rails as they end up
making the rails even louder. The best way to handle this portion of your
garage door is to lubricate the rails while the motor is running. Feeding
grease in the track will significantly reduce the chatter in the garage door’s
screw driven motor rail.
Door Springs
The
thinner variety of lubricant works well on door springs – so we prefer using
something like WD40 or a silicone. Just spray a little bit of the grease in the
moving parts for optimum results. (This is demonstrated in the video).
Door Hinges
Thin
lubricants work well for door hinges too. The thing to be concerned with here
is not to overdo the lubrication. Too much can leave a film on hinges, leading
to more noise than in the first place. The ideal method with which to apply
WD40 or silicone is when the door is up and also when down. When the door is
up, there is a small gap between the header and garage door that can be
lubricated by getting in between and lightly spraying grease. This is a useful
area to work on since the coil is twisted and tends to have a build-up of dirt
over time.
Bearings
Keep
in mind that the ideal goal is to lubricate any areas where there is metal on
metal and moving parts. Going right up behind the garage door lid when the
entire door is raised you will have access to the bearings which also need
lubrication. You will also notice plastic bushings in some cases that run along
the door track on each side.
To
avoid racket noises in garage doors, you can lubricate the garage door roller
that fits in the shaft with some heavy duty grease to keep the rattle down to a
minimum. The rattle occurs when the rollers don’t fit exactly right. The ideal type of lubricant to use is mechanics
grease if you can get it in a clear color. This is typically available in blue
or red so try to use it sparingly. It is important to lubricate all rollers
since they these are a source of a lot of noise.
A
very important thing is not to grease the track along each side of the garage
door. A dirty track will only hinder the rollers from properly functioning,
could possibly lead to them coming off the track or at least making lots of
noise. Lightly spray some brake parts cleaner or WD40 and then wipe off with a
clean cloth.
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As
always, we are the professionals right here to help you through this or any
other of your garage door needs. We invite you to visit our website at www.gdoorgle.com or email us at garagedoorplace@gmail.com.
