You can save money on your heating bills by performing simple garage door maintenance.
A majority of Americans do not realize that if they have a garage door, it could be the source of their high winter heating bills. That is if their garage door isn’t doing its job to keep things nice and tight. Many homeowners have a garage that is attached to their house. We know how challenging it can be to keep your garage door in proper working order, especially as the weather gets colder.
A garage door not only lets you in and out of the garage, but it also keeps the heat and cold out. Let’s take a look at what you need to do to maintain your garage door. Let’s begin with something that anyone can do with a little bit of effort.
“Another thing you could do is go to a local hardware store. You can get some garage door lubricant from your local hardware store. It’s not the same as a regular lubricant, so make sure it’s for garage doors. You can squirt that across your door’s torsion springs. Kyle Chudyk, the owner of Pro-lift Garage Doors Indianapolis, recommends spraying all of your hinges as well.
Before lubricating one of the doors, we heard squeaks coming from one of them. After it was lubricated, it was smooth and made hardly any noise at all. Using this method is a great way to save money because you can cut down on wear and tear. This garage door lubricant will cost less than $10 and will last for several years.
If you get up on the ladder and close the garage door, give the springs a nice little squirt of lubrication. This will soak into the interior of the springs and make the door move freely. Don’t forget to pick up all the hinges as well,” Chudyk recommended.
To make sure your dollar goes further, the smoothness with which the garage doors open and close is not the only thing to consider. Make sure that when you close the garage door, there is an excellent seal. From the exterior, you can check the weather stripping to see if it’s in good condition. If it isn’t, hardware stores carry them in various basic colors that you can replace if necessary. They’re also reasonably priced. This can save you money on your heating bills. This is because a cold garage will chill your home.
Not replacing the opener, the springs or the cable is another way to stretch your dollar.
They can wear out much faster if they aren’t properly tensioned, but experts advise against trying it yourself.
“For the most part, messing with the torsion springs above the doors is not a smart idea. Those things are tense and under a lot of pressure. You don’t want to tamper with them. Chudyk stated, “You need the right tools, and you need to know what you’re doing.”
So, how do you know if the tension and balance of your garage door are correct or incorrect?
To check the balance:
- Disconnect your garage door from your opener by pulling down the rope or chain that comes standard on all garage doors.
- Lift the door halfway and see if it stays in place.
- Push it up and see if it stays in place and doesn’t rock back and forth toward the opener.
It all means that your opener and everything else isn’t under any unnecessary strain. Because you don’t want it to break in the middle of winter, this will extend the life of everything.