Garage door issues in cold weather

It’s never a good time to have garage door problems, but probably the worst times are when you need to be somewhere fast, and then of course, during very cold weather! If your garage door doesn’t work right during these times, it can be both annoying and stressful. Imagine trying to leave for a job interview or to pick a child up from school only to find that your car is stuck in the garage due to a cold garage door that doesn’t want to work. Garage Door Repair Commerce City offers these tips and guidelines to help with those frigid times when your garage door give you the “cold shoulder.”

Stay calm

Weather here in Commerce City, CO can get pretty nippy (as you know!) and heeding our advice can save you lots of time and stress as you won’t have to research cold weather garage door options or waste time calling all over town trying to find answers. Just keep your “cool” and take a deep breath and follow our advice.

Remote battery

First of all, do a quick check on your remote’s battery. You already know that drained or run-down batteries will affect your ability to operate your garage door. Many people don’t realize that cold weather can wreak havoc with your battery performance, too. Checking the condition of your remote’s battery sounds like such a simple thing but many a person has needlessly had to pay for a repair service call for their garage door when all that was wrong was a cold battery.

Check your sensors

Did you battery check out? Next step; photo electric safety eye inspection! This is a common but easily fixed problem. As you are no doubt aware, your safety eyes send signals back and forth to each other that allow your garage door to open or close. If for some reason, the signal is stopped or interrupted, your garage door won’t respond as needed.

One of the main culprits of an interrupted signal is a physical blockage. Do a quick check and see if anything is in the way of your safety eye’s “view” of each other. These could be rakes, bicycles, dog food bags, trash cans, garden equipment, boxes, or anything else that may have fallen over or been pushed over too far. Next, see that your eyes are aligned properly and are pointing directly to each other. Even being “off” just a tad is enough to make your cold garage door not work. Lastly, check your sensors for fogging. Frigid weather here in Commerce City, CO sometimes make the sensors develop some condensation and this, too affects its performance. The solution is very simple; just wipe with a cloth while being careful not to disturb the safety eye calibration and try again.

Rollers and springs are next

Cold Colorado weather can be brutal on your rollers. They can warp or become damaged or misaligned. Springs wear out with use or age, and like your rollers, the cold affect them negatively. Both rollers and springs have long life cycles but use combined with harsh weather can shorten it. You can check for spring damage by disconnecting your garage door from the opener unit while in the down position. Try manually opening the garage door and if it is difficult, you may have a broken or damaged spring.

Here at Garage Door Repair Commerce City we recommend calling a professional if this is the case. We discourage do-it-yourself spring or roller work. Unless you have experience and skill at servicing garage doors, you should contact a licensed, bonded and insured garage door repair shop and have them come over and work on yours. You CAN lubricate your garage door parts yourself and see if that works. Frigid air makes metal contract and your springs and tracks can freeze up making it difficult to operate your garage door. Try some silicone based lubricant on your springs, rollers and hinges, and see if that helps. Many people use WD-40 but this is not recommended by most garage door repair pros as it mainly acts as a degreaser and not a lubricant. Silicone based lubricants and lithium sprays work best for garage door lubricants.

Clean your tracks

Speaking of your garage door tracks, cold weather can make any grease or oil that is in your garage door track to thicken and prevent the garage door from moving smoothly within the track. This thickened oil is often joined by dirt to form sludge. You can clean the tracks by using a simple toothbrush to remove the old, hardened oil and remember; you don’t need to oil your tracks, just clean them.

Be ready for problems

No, don’t expect cold weather problems but be ready for them if they occur. You can start by gathering your owner’s manuals (if you have any) for your opener unit or any other garage door parts. Keep them in one place where you can access them easily.

Be sure to have the telephone number to a reputable garage door repair shop logged in to your smart phone for handy access at any time. You are always welcome to call Garage Door Repair Commerce City as we offer responsive, 24-hour mobile service for home and business garage doors. If you have a shop that you’ve already used or that comes highly recommended to you be sure to add their information for easy access when needed.

Many local Commerce City, CO garage door repair shops offer free estimates and provide 24-hour emergency help so never hesitate to call for help with your torsion springs, opener unit, tracks, pulleys, rollers, extension springs or any other part that may need service.

Don’t wait

We recommend that you don’t wait until there’s a problem to call for garage door service. In most cases, you can avoid cold weather problems by lubricating and maintaining your garage door parts on a regular basis either yourself, or by having a professional technician do the work. Spend the cold season doing something fun like skiing or making snow angels, and NOT trying to work a poorly maintained garage door!

 

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