Tips for Basic Garage Door Care

The garage door is one of the objects present in the home that needs proper maintenance and care, now and then. Only when they are properly maintained, they do their task perfectly with little manual efforts. Since they help in securing your vehicles, it is your responsibility to keep them in good condition. There are certain tips and techniques that you need to follow in maintaining and repairing your garage doors yourself. The most important safety precaution while you are working on the garage door is that you need to mention all your family members about the work, so that they do not open or close the door without your consent. As the garage door is the largest moving object, it may cause you serious injury when mishandled. Hence, make sure that you are aware of what you’re doing. It is important for you to visually inspect the door at least once a month to check for any flaws in the system. Go inside the garage and close the door to look at the springs, rollers and pulleys for any damage. If you find anything look abnormal, call for a technician immediately. You must also perform door balance test every month to check if the door is out of balance. This test should be performed only if the door has an automatic opening system. In that case, disconnect the door opener and try to lift the door manually. If the door opens easily without any tension, the door is in proper working condition. Else, it is out of balance and needs repair right away.

As a safety precaution, all garage doors need to install reverse mechanism system, which reverses the closing of the door when there is any object in between the door and the basement. Photo eye or an edge sensor is the technology used in the reverse mechanism system. The system will ensure that no person is trapped in between the door and the basement. You need to check the working of the reverse mechanism system at least once a month. Simply place a piece of brick in the center of the entrance where the door makes contact with the ground. Switch on the automatic door and see if the door reverses back when it comes in contact with the brick. If it does not, then the garage needs to be repaired by a technician. Similarly, to check the photo eye system in place, open the door completely and close the door by pressing the wall button. When the door is about to close, wave any object before the photo eyes. If the door reverses, the system is working fine. Else, try the same by wiping the eye using a soft cloth. If the problem persists, contact a technician.

There is one more manual test that is to be performed every month along with all the above tests. It is the force setting test, in which you need to open the door completely before closing it automatically. When the door is closing down, use your hand to lift the door manually. If the door immediately reverses, then it is working fine. Else, the force of the door is excess and needs repair immediately. All the above tests should be done every month as it ensures the proper working of the door, which is needed for the safety of people living in the house. Apply lubricant at least twice a year to the hinges and tracks of the doors. Also, wipe the door with water and soap to avoid dirt and moisture settling on the door surface. Even though there are many do-it-yourself guides on the internet on servicing garage doors in Fallbrook, it is better to give the job to experts. As you need to deal with a heavy object, it is wise to repair the door only if you’re confident that you can do the job with perfection. When the door is maintained properly, they will last longer, preventing you from replacing them often which is more costly. If there are children in the house, make them aware of the working conditions of garage door and its safety precautions.

When Should You Hire a Professional Garage Door Technician?

Garage doors require maintenance and care for its proper functioning. They need to be inspected every month to identify any defects that need to be fixed immediately. The inspection can be done by your own, but the repair works need the help of professionals to ensure your safety and the functioning of the garage door. There are a couple of repair tasks that you could perform but you must exercise caution in all your works with such doors. There are certain problems when encountered in the doors, need immediate attention. Following is the list of problems that needs service and repair from professionals. If you hear a loud noise while the door closes or opens, there may be a problem with the door. The door should go all the way down when it closes and if it doesn't, then there is a problem with the balance of the door. There might also be problems in the electrical equipments attached to the door system, in case the door is an automatic one. You would encounter all these problems visibly and hence call the professional to repair.

There are certain other problems that are often not visible, but they compromise the safety of the people living in the house. Such problems can be identified when the door is inspected every month. When you feel that the balance of the door is not proper, call the professional immediately as the problem may be with the spring attached to the door that is responsible for opening and closing. Since the operation of the door is in question, the problem needs to be solved immediately as it may prove fatal. Inspect the door by keeping an object in between the door and the ground so that when the door comes in contact with the object, it must reverse its movement. This prevents any mishap and when this mechanism doesn't work properly, it is wise to call for a professional help. Sometimes, when the door hits any object on its way down, it may fall unbalanced, thereby leading to tension of springs resulting in cable detachment from the drum. In such cases, the door does not close or open properly. This problem again needs professional support as the door may weigh more than hundred pounds. Moreover, the door has many complicated mechanisms that need technical support for proper repair. The above-said issues are some of the common problems faced that needs professional help.

There are certain reasons why these tasks cannot be performed yourself. First and foremost is the security concern. As you may know, the doors are huge and weighty. So if you get trapped in-between the door and the ground, you may hurt yourself so badly that may sometime prove fatal. You may suffer from serious injuries otherwise. You may have noted that when a Murrieta garage door company sends in professionals to carry out a repair task, they don’t come as groups of two or three instead of individuals. This ensures safety of the workers. The second reason for opting professional help is the lack of knowledge of door mechanism for common people. The door garage involves some serious mechanism for its working and the parts such as torsion spring, drum, cables are hard to handle and repair. They may come with different troubles every time and as a naïve user, you may not know the exact reason of the defect along with its consequences. Professionals are the right persons to work with the door as they are trained in the field. And more importantly, the garage doors are costly for re-installing. If you repair it yourself and end up with serious trouble with the door, it needs to be re-installed which will cost you more amount than what you would spend for a professional help. It is for all these reasons that you should call for a professional’s help as and when needed. Lubricating the doors, wiping them for removing dust and moisture and inspecting the doors for malfunction are the tasks that only you can perform yourself. Even then, caution is needed while managing the doors. Make sure that nobody is around the door when the repair work is going on.

When Your Garage Door Breaks Down

Nothing is more ominous than getting ready to leave your home, only to hear the rumbling of your garage door motor working in vain as the door refuses to budge. Or even worse, the motor may not even work at all, leaving you stranded in your garage. While some homeowners who use their garages as an extra room may not have this issue, not all of us have this luxury. For those of us with our cars still parked inside, we rely on our garage doors to be functioning properly day in and day out, but when they fail, here are some basic steps you can take to try and take care of the simpler causes before calling a professional technician out.

First and foremost, check the trolley on the track. This is the little mechanism that connects the door to the drive that actually does the lifting. Sometimes, this device can become disconnected for whatever reason, and in these cases it's a simple matter of clicking it back into place. This can also be used in an emergency, such as when the power goes out: most garage doors have an emergency release cord that you can pull on to manually disconnect the trolley, allowing you to pull the door up on your own. Be sure to reconnect the trolley once the power is restored. If it keeps getting disconnected, though, this may be a sign of a deeper underlying issue that may require professional assistance.

Next, take a look at the opener itself to see if the light is coming on, or if it responds to the remote. Be sure to try any remote garage door openers you may have as well as the opener in the garage itself. If there seems to be no sign of power, check to make sure the opener is still plugged in, and that the power source is working. Replace any dead batteries or faulty cables if you manage to isolate the issue. If none of this helps, this again may be an indicator of a bigger problem that would require a garage door technician to solve.

There are many other possibilities as to why the door is not functioning. Even though a garage door installation doesn't have as many moving parts as other devices in a home, the complexity and potential danger of troubleshooting a garage door quickly ramps up past the basic steps, making it dangerous for the average homeowner. Never attempt to tamper with the spring or the track without a clear idea of what to do, or you may end up damaging the installation or even get injured, as these parts are under a lot of tension.

For the best Temecula garage door service, call Afficient Garage Doors at 951-541-0460. We service the Fallbrook, Murrieta and Temecula areas and are family owned and operated, with over 15 years in the garage door business. We handle all aspects from maintenance and repairs to complete reinstallation and remodeling. If your door doesn't work and you can't figure out why, we've got you covered!