It’s probably safe to say that people who drive their cars to work every day, rarely use the front door to get in and out of the house. That distinction likely belongs to their garage door, which means it sees a lot of action on a daily basis. With their frequent use, garage doors are bound to run into some issues eventually. One issue that commonly plagues homeowners is a noisy garage door.
It is incredibly annoying when you hear your garage door squeak and screech every time you open or close it. You have to address it as soon as you can if you don’t want it to drive you crazy.
There are times when you can fix a noisy garage door by yourself. However, some of the reasons for all that noise may be best left to professionals. Problems with the springs, for example, require professional garage door spring repair.
Let’s take a look at some of the noisy garage door fixes you can do on your own.
Clear the tracks.
Both sides of your garage door have tracks that guide a section whenever the door is raised or lowered. Sometimes, dirt, dust, grime, and bits of debris like tiny pebbles or any small object block these tracks. Check if your tracks have obstructions, then remove them and wipe them down with a damp cloth and brake cleaner.
Lube it up.
More often than not, an object with moving parts that makes some noise is only suffering from a lack of lubrication, and your garage door is no exception.
For garage doors, the best type of lubricant is one that is silicone or lithium-based. With the thicker coating that they provide, silicone or lithium-based lubricants typically stick longer to the moving metal parts of your garage door compared to water-based lubricants like the ever-popular WD-40.
When your garage door is making such a racket, apply silicone or lithium-based lubricant to all of the moving parts of your garage door generously. Pay special attention to the hinges, locks, stems, pivot points, the arm bar, and the pulleys. If your garage door has metal rollers, then you should lubricate them as well.
If there’s one component of your garage door that you should never lubricate, it would be the tracks. Not only will a lubricant make the tracks slide too much, but it will also make dirt and dust stick to them and clog things up.
Tighten nuts and bolts
Over time, nuts and bolts tend to loosen and rattle around whenever your garage door opener is in operation. To stop that rattling noise, get your deep socket wrench and ratchet and tighten the bolts that keep the framework of your garage door opener. Do the same for the nuts securing the roller assemblies to your garage door. If some of these nuts and bolts are damaged, replace them immediately.
Remember not to over-tighten these because doing so can pull the bolts right through your garage door.
When to call in a professional
As mentioned above, there are garage door noises that may be stemming from issues that are best left to garage door repair professionals. For your own safety, never attempt to deal with any noise problem—usually of the grinding variety—caused by a broken spring, a dented track, or an off-track roller on your own.
When the above problems are causing the garage door noises that have been bothering you, the best course of action is to contact garage door professionals as soon as you can. They have the expertise, experience, and tools necessary to assess and fix the issue safely.
