How To Prepare Your Garage Door For The Winter
As cold temperatures and harsher weather begins to set in, it’s important to prepare your home for the months ahead. While you’ve likely remembered to schedule furnace maintenance or had your gutters cleaned after the leaves have fallen, don’t forget to also prepare your garage door. Your garage door can be affected by winter weather more than you may think, so the best way to avoid an inconvenient situation on the coldest day of the year is to winterize your garage door.
How Does Winter Weather Affect Your Garage Door?
Cold temperatures, snow, sleet, wind, rain, and ice can all take a toll on condition of your garage door. Some of the most common winter garage door problems include:
- Frozen Door: The combination of rain or snow with temperatures that drop below freezing can cause your garage door to freeze to the ground.
- Damaged Parts: Springs, rollers, tracks, and other components of your garage door system can warp from continual expanding and contracting that happens as temperatures rise and drop. Weather stripping can also become worn or broken from extreme weather.
- Malfunctioning Garage Door Opener: Cold weather can also affect the lubrication needed for the door opener or the wiring of the motor.
- Water Damage: Excessive amounts of moisture from rain, snow, or ice can cause wooden garage doors to swell, warp, or crack.
- Let Cold In: If the condition of your garage door is affected by winter weather in any way, you will begin to notice colder air within the house as the insulation and seals are not able to serve their purpose properly.
How Can You Prepare Your Garage Door For Winter Weather?
Although winter weather can take its toll on your garage door, there are several things you can do protect your door from damage.
- Perform A Thorough Inspection: Start by doing a carefully checking the condition of your garage door system. Check the door, weather stripping, rollers, springs, and tracks for signs of wear and tear. Listen for any strange sound and watch for any abnormal movements. If you notice a potential or existing problem, call for professional garage door repair before it can become worse.
- Add Lubrication: For a garage door to move as it should, it must be well lubricated. Spray lubricant onto any moving parts of the door to keep the door functioning properly.
- Replace Seals: Stand outside when it is dark out and take a look at your closed door checking for light coming through. If you notice light, you should consider replacing the seal around the door. If the seal appears to be intact, you might still consider cleaning it off to remove any build of dirt or grime.
- Schedule Yearly Maintenance: Annual garage maintenance may not seem important, but it is one of the best things you can do to prevent garage door problems during the winter. During yearly maintenance, your garage door is inspected and any developing issues are addressed.
K & B Door Co in Las Vegas offers professional garage door repair and garage door maintenance that will keep your garage door functioning safely and efficiently during the winter. Call us today at (702) 871-0662 to schedule an appointment.
