3 Reasons Why Your Garage Door May No Longer Work
Posted on: 24 April 2019
Do you have a garage with a broken door? Is it no longer opening and closing quietly and efficiently? Although this can be frustrating to deal with, it's not always as bad as it might initially seem. Although you should definitely get a professional out to check the door as soon as possible, there are also some solutions that you may be able to try on your own while you wait for the appointment. Some of the things that you can check or do include the following:
Clean the sensor
To prevent your garage door from closing on your vehicle or on any person or animal standing underneath it, a garage door is equipped with one or more sensors across the doorframe. If these get dirty or covered by a spiderweb one morning, the sensor will get confused and think that there is something substantial blocking the doorway. By cleaning off the sensor, you'll allow the sensor to work again as intended. Unfortunately, it's also possible that the sensor may have become misaligned either due to age or by being bumped, and it will require a more thorough garage door repair to be performed by a professional.
Apply grease
Because a garage door consists of multiple moving parts, a common garage door repair that needs to be done is the application of oil, grease, or some other lubricant. Without the regular application of these substances, the garage door motor may seize up and may no longer open and close quietly if it even works at all. If it gets to this state, it's essential that you have it checked out by a professional to determine if the motor actually needs to be replaced or if the application of oil or grease was sufficient to keep the garage door working in the near future.
Check spring
Although replacing a broken spring is not a garage door repair to be enacted by a non-professional, you can still look to see if it appears to have snapped. A garage door spring is a sturdy spring that supports most of the weight of the garage door so that it is able to be lifted easily by the motor. Without the spring or with a damaged spring being in place, the motor either won't be able to lift the door or it will have great difficulty doing so. Having a professional replace the spring will enable the door to open and close properly once again.
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