5 Ways to Get Your Garage Door Ready for Winter

As we write this post, new record high temperatures are being set for Whitby and the GTA in early September. The long range forecast doesn’t show any daytime temperatures below 20 degrees. It feels more like June than September.

But September it undeniably is. The beginning of autumn and cooler temperatures. The precursor to winter.

It may not seem like a time to prepare anything for the onslaught of ice and snow,  but it’s better to prepare your garage door for winter now than when the ice and snow actually arrive.

5 Steps to Prepare Your Garage Door for Winter

The last thing you need is for your garage door to stop working at the height of a blizzard. The following steps will help keep it in peak working condition throughout the winter.

1. Check the Operation of the Door

This one’s easy, unless there’s a problem. Whether it’s manual or you have a garage door opener, open and close the door. As you do check to make sure it moves up and down evenly, with it’s bottom edge remaining parallel to the garage floor. Also listen for unusual squeaks and sounds, particularly grinding noises from your garage door opener. 

2. Tighten Connections

The panels of your garage door are connected to each other by bolted hinges. And the door is connected to it’s tracks through the rollers on each side. Check and tighten all bolts in these connections.

3. Lubricate the Weather Seals

The rubber seals between each panel, along the bottom of the door and around the door frame should be lubricated to keep them from sticking, freezing together and cracking.

4. Lubricate Moving Metal Parts

The garage door’s hinges, cables, springs and rollers should all be lubricated to keep them running smoothly.

5. Test the Safety Systems

You should do this at least twice a year and the autumn is as good a time as any. If you have a garage door opener, it has two safety systems. One will reverse the door if the door strikes anything as it closes. The other will reverse the door if anything crosses its path while it is closing.

To test the first safety system, place a 2X4 on the garage floor where the door meets the floor. Close the door. It should stop and reverse when it hits the 2X4. To test the second system, use a stick to push an empty cardboard box into the path of the door as it closes, while you remain well away from the door’s path. The door should stop and reverse as the cardboard box moves between the two photo eyes on either side of the door opening.

To learn more about keeping your garage door and opener it tip-top working condition, call Whitby Garage Doors at 905-665-8668.