If you lived in Seattle, you would know the importance of garage doors. As you may already know, your garage door makes use of torsion or extension springs. The springs help keep the weight of the door on a counterbalance so that it can easily perform its functions, of opening and closing. Because the entire weight of the door and it operations rests on the springs, they are likely to develop faults more often than other parts of the garage door. This is why you need garage door inspection and regular cleaning and maintenance practice.
Get Rid of Rust
One of the biggest problems of garage door springs is rust accumulating around it. This rust builds up usually leads to an increase in coil friction of the moving parts of the spring. When this happens, the spring begins to fail thereby posing a safety problem to your family, pets and maybe visitors. Getting rid of rust is very easy through the application of lubricant. Every three months, try spraying the spring coil with WD-40 lubricant, which is a special lubricant designed to eliminate rust and other side effects of corrosion.
Be Safety Conscious
Garage door springs are very dangerous to work on because of the torque and stretch in them. Automatic door openers are connected to an electrical source, which may lead to electrical shock during a cleaning and maintenance exercise. When cleaning the springs, ensure that you turn off the electrical power source first and be gentle with the springs. If you will be climbing a ladder or any other makeshift platform, make sure you have someone there with you who can guarantee you stability so that you don’t fall. During your garage door repair, take care not to allow the lubricant to get into your eyes when applying it for rust.
No Need For Shiny Spring
Most people cleaning their garage door spring are usually tempted into trying to achieve shiny clean springs. While this might look attractive, it might not be necessary since the grease is not dust and it is required to stay in the spring to create adequate friction during movements. You should also avoid the use of bleach, detergent and other unusual cleaning agents that are not recommended for cleaning springs. This will do more damage than good to your springs and may cost you a lot of money to correct at the end.
Hire an Expert If You’re Not Sure
Most garage door installation experts and manufacturers will tell you that the last thing you want to do is a DIY garage door cleaning and maintenance. The springs are very dangerous and sometimes do lead to accidents. If you are not sure of yourself, the best thing is just to hire an expert garage door service to help you carry out regular inspections.
Keeping your garage doors clean and in good shape will save you money and headache. It will also ensure safety guarantees for yourself and your family. Find a reliable residential garage door service in Seattle with many years of experience to do a regular inspection of the springs. It is the safest thing to do.