If your noisy garage door makes you flinch every time it opens and closes, there’s an easy fix: lubricate its parts.
If you don’t know how to lubricate your garage door, you’re in luck. Our garage door experts will give you a straightforward walkthrough on what to do to get your door sounding and moving like new.
Supplies You’ll Need
Before you begin, there are a few supplies that you’ll need to gather to get the job done:
- Garage door lubricant: Be sure to use lubricant made specifically for lubricating a garage door. Any other type of lubricant can attract debris and cause more wear and tear on your garage door’s system.
- Clean cloth: You’ll need this to wipe off your garage door track before you begin lubricating it.
- Vacuum hose or handheld vacuum: A vacuum will allow you to remove dust or debris that may have accumulated on the garage door track.
- Ladder: In order to lubricate the springs on your garage door, you’ll likely need a small ladder or step stool to reach them.
Steps to Lubricating Your Garage Door
Keeping your garage door lubricated is important for prolonging your garage door system. When there is less resistance in your door’s movement, it puts less of a strain on its parts, which will help extend the life of your system.
To properly lubricate your door, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Close your garage door
This will enable you to access your door’s moving parts.
Step 2: Turn off the power to your door
Avoid electrical issues or injury by disconnecting or turning off your garage door’s power source.
Step 3: Clean your garage door track
Before you start this process, it’s best to put on a pair of lightweight work gloves. Then, use a clean cloth to wipe the metal track from one end to the other. You can also use a vacuum to remove any loose dirt or dust. The goal of this step is to remove any debris that could possibly cause your garage door system to wear down faster. It also helps ensure that your door’s rollers won’t stick to the track. It’s important to note that you will not be adding lubricant to the track itself.
Step 4: Lubricate your door’s moving parts
Use a garage door lubricate to grease your door. Be sure to wipe away any excess lubricant as you go to avoid dripping or spillage.
Follow the directions below to lubricate each moving part of your garage door:
- Hinges: Apply lubricant to the hinges, particularly at the point where they bend.
- Rollers: Rollers are the circle-shaped pieces located next to your door’s hinges that sit in the door track. When applying grease to the rollers, don’t forget to lubricate the small spheres inside of the rollers as well. To do this, use the narrow hose attachment on your spray bottle of lubricant.
- Springs and bearing plates: Using your ladder, apply lubricant to your door’s springs and bearing plates (located on each side of the springs).
- Lock: Lubricate your garage door’s lock by aiming the spray bottle at the keyhole and spraying.
- Top of the rail and armbar: Grease the top rail (the bar is situated about 6-8 inches below the ceiling and runs vertically to it) and the armbar (the piece that connects the garage door to the top rail).
Step 5: Test your door
Reconnect your door to its power supply and test it by opening and closing it. This will help the lubrication spread evenly throughout the springs and give you the opportunity to verify if your door is working better now.
Let Precision Garage Door Service Perform Your Next Garage Door Tune-up
Still getting signs that your garage door needs lubrication? Let the professionals at Precision Garage Door Service help. We will lubricate your garage door as part of our garage door tune-up service. We’ll also check your door to make sure there are no underlying issues with its parts.
To get started, give us a call or find the Precision Garage Door Service location nearest you.
