ProLift 101: How To Winterize Your Garage Door

In many areas across the country, fall seemed to slip right by and winter has grabbed hold. While this blast of arctic weather may have the kids excited at the prospect of missing school and snowball fights, you know that this nasty winter weather could have serious adverse effects on your home.

While you may know the routine for preparing the rest of your house for winter weather, do you know how to make sure your garage door is weatherized?

Your garage door is one of the features of your home that you never think about – until it breaks. The garage door is crucial to the smooth functioning of your busy household; without it, everything is thrown off schedule. Don’t take a chance this winter on waking up one particularly cold morning to find that the spring in your garage has snapped and you can’t drop the kids off and get to work – take these proactive steps to winterize your garage door now to avoid a headache later.

Before taking these steps, be warned: do not attempt to fix or replace anything on your own. Garage doors are tricky machines, with weights and powerful springs that, if not handled by a professional, could cause serious damage to both your garage door and to yourself. Do a cautious inspection and then call your local ProLift Garage Doors to handle any issues.

Weather Stripping

Weather stripping, also called the weather seal, is the spongy insulation between your garage door and your garage itself. The weather stripping is crucial because it keeps out the elements while protecting your cars. This is particularly important during the winter because poor weather stripping could be costing you money! Keeping your garage as insulated as possible helps keep your home warmer – don’t waste money because of a faulty weather strip! If it’s hardened, crumbling, or misshapen, it’s time to get it replaced.

Garage Door Mechanisms

This is an important step where you shouldn’t touch but rather conduct a visual inspection. Closely follow the garage door tracks and look for frayed cables, bent springs, broken wheels, bent shafts, worn out bearings, and bent or misaligned track. Even if your garage door is currently functioning, the extra stress of freezing and expanding during the harsh winter months can cause weaker elements of your garage door to give out. Try and get ahead of the emergency and replace weak parts before they totally give out.

Garage door counterbalance test

An easy way to make sure everything is working well is to perform a garage door counterbalance test. Close your garage door fully. Make sure it’s completely closed before you pull the red/orange string that will disconnect the garage door from the motor. Lift the garage door halfway up and then let it go – the door should sit in the middle position without falling or lifting all the way up. If this doesn’t happen, it means something is wrong with the balance of your door and you should get it inspected by ProLift Garage Doors.

Surface cleaning

Maintain the color and coating of your garage door with a quick preventative step for those in especially harsh climates. Use car wax to protect the outside of your garage door and keep it look good during the winter weather.

Battery check

Last but not least, don’t forget to check the battery on your garage door opener! This is an easy fix – you really don’t want to be stuck outside in a snowstorm if your opener dies and you have to trudge out in the snow to enter your home another way.

This year, set yourself up for success in the winter with these preventative measures. Taking just a couple minutes out of your time today could save you time and money in the future. It’s better to repair or replace faulty parts before they cause damage or unexpectedly break during the biggest snowstorm of the year. The plummeting winter temperatures and harsh weather can cause serious damage on garage door parts. Rely on ProLift Garage Doors to prepare or repair your garage door this winter.