Your Garage Door Needs a Tune-Up!
Cars need tune-ups. Appliances need tune-ups. Even the human body occasionally needs tune-ups.
In fact, virtually every form of mechanism will eventually need a tune-up of some sort. And that certainly includes your garage door.
Don’t Neglect It…
Ignoring your car when it needs a tune-up can have unfortunate consequences. It could leave you stranded at the side of the road.
Or worse.
And similarly, ignoring your garage door when it needs a tune-up can also have serious consequences. It could leave your car stuck inside the garage. Or prevent you from opening the door so that you can put your car inside.
But a neglected garage door can also pose significant safety hazards. After all, garage doors are big, heavy items. They have the potential for doing lots of damage.
In just one year, 2011, garage doors injured more than 20,000 people. That’s according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Not all of those injuries resulted from garage doors that needed tune-ups.
But many did.
Many Potential Sources of Trouble
Every garage door contains many parts that are subject to lots of wear. And many of those parts hold the potential of causing a dangerous accident if they fail.
Garage door springs, for example, operate under enormous tension. If one snaps, it can do great damage. The same is true of cables. Rollers, tracks, and linkages are all additional sources of trouble.
And an electric opener presents even more sources of trouble. Automatic openers must be kept precisely adjusted to assure that they’re applying the proper force, both during opening and during closing. Safety sensors must also be checked frequently to assure proper alignment.
Have a Professional Check Your Door
Not sure whether your garage door needs a tune-up? Well, if it hasn’t received any maintenance in a long time, then odds are good that it does need some attention.
But there are some things you can check for yourself.
You can check the condition of the cables, for example. Just carefully running your hand over them can be a way to check for nicks, cuts, and frays. You can periodically inspect the condition of the tracks, and clean any debris from them. You can also visually inspect the condition of the wheels, and lubricate them to help keep them running smoothly.
But on a regular basis, you should also have a professional check the condition of your garage door. Many indicators of the health of your garage door system – spring and cable tensions, for example – can really only be checked accurately by a qualified professional.
And certain adjustments and fixes can be downright dangerous when not performed by an experienced professional.
So if your garage door needs a tune-up – or you’re not sure – have a professional give it an inspection. You do the same for your car. And even for your own body.
Why risk doing less for the heaviest, most potentially dangerous piece of machinery in your home?