A noisy garage door can be embarrassing and irritating. Besides, loud sounds are equivalent to increased energy costs, so everyone wants to get rid of unnecessary noise. To achieve this goal, there are several ways how to lubricate a garage door correctly.
To prevent mechanical damage during use it is necessary to perform regular maintenance for the smooth operation of the garage door. Generally speaking, all kinds of rolling steel doors, if properly maintained according to silence in use may last longer than fibreglass or aluminium doors.
The Main Problems
The problem with a noisy garage door is that various components are fastened together by screws, nuts and bolts and can potentially corrode over time because they come into contact with paint, moisture and dust. Noticing the first noises when opening or closing the door, it is time to get started with the repair.
What are Typical Causes of Noise in Garage Doors?
Since usually, a garage door is relatively heavy, they are difficult to move without binding parts. The main cause of the noise is the lack of lubricant on hinges, springs and locks. If you want to be sure about what needs to be lubricated, check all movement joints that bind when opening or closing the door.
Before using any lubricant for noisy garage doors, clean grease off of these components carefully. Also, oil all joints until no more solution remains on them because this may only attract dust and sand that can lead to even greater friction during movement.
Make a List
Make a list of what exactly needs oiling and what kind of lubricant could be used for each application. If only a few screws and bolts need to be oiled, you can use WD-40. For any problem with bearings and bushings, it is better to use heavy grease or synthetic oils. Sometimes even old doors require lubrication badly before they become completely silent.
Do not forget about spring tension on both sides of the door as this is also an important part of garage door maintenance which affects the amount of noise generated. Over time, the springs lose their elasticity and stretch out too much because of load, resulting in excessive damping during movement that creates unpleasant noises.
Garage Door Lubricant
As mentioned above, it is important to know exactly what and where needs lubrication. You do not want to over lubricate the door as this may only attract dust and sand which can accumulate around bearings and cause more friction. Before you start working on your garage door, protect surfaces such as the floor or walls with newspapers or plastic sheets so that you do not stain them during oiling.
Lube rollers properly and use any spray which may make rotating much easier without noise. If there are no moving parts on either side of the door, grease all bolts with lithium grease spray or WD-40 for bolts. Use a spray straw for better accuracy, especially on hard to reach garage door tracks. Oil hinges holding the sections of steel doors before opening up panels for this purpose also apply grease to roller tracks if they are not pre-greased.
What is the Best Way for Lubricating Garage Doors?
The trickiest part of properly applying garage door lube on a garage door is to lubricate all moving components in the right order, from top to bottom. In addition, this process could be done very carefully and slowly to avoid mistakes when grease may accumulate where it shouldn’t be applied.
In spring tension units around bearings may be greased much more often because these parts are under the most stress, especially in the case of an overloaded garage door. When you open several panels at once, experienced technicians recommend lubricating these components every 3 months if there is no movement on either side of the door. Also, check hinges that hold several sections together as they may have enough lubricant too.
Use Quality Lube
Use high-quality garage door lube products, because cheap products are usually insufficient for this type of job. It is also a good idea to lubricate door sections before installing them on the tracks and after removing them.
Tips on How to Lubricate a Garage Door
Lubricating a noisy garage door with extensions springs often requires special tools and experience so it is better left to professional technicians. If you know someone who can do the job, ask him to help with this project or read manuals that come with oil spray or grease. Sometimes just using too much force when opening or closing a garage door causes components such as hinges and roller tracks to become noisy. In such cases, it is enough just to tighten bolts with a screwdriver without applying any garage door lubricant at all.
Lubricating locks is not necessary but if these components are exposed to harsh external conditions it is better to use special silicone spray for this purpose.
If your garage door is very heavy, lubricating hinges or tracks may not solve problems with the noise. It would be a good idea to have engineers check overall moving parts because there could be some serious defects you do not even know about.
Lubricating a Garage Door
The frequency of maintenance on a noisy garage door depends on how frequent you use them and where they are located. If they are in direct contact with corrosive substances such as fog, seawater, chemicals used by gardeners around your house, oil sprays from cars, etc., then you may clean these surfaces often with soap or detergent diluted in water afterwards wash everything with clean water and dry with a cloth.
Hinges of Garage Door Lubrication
Grease hinges of the garage door that are exposed to this kind of external conditions every month, more often if there is someone in your family who smokes or if there is a smoker nearby who likes to burn paper and other flammable materials just by the entrance of your home. Such smoke may accumulate around door components and cause rust which can lead to their early breakdown.
Use an air duster for cleaning controls such as remote control buttons as well as a light switch inside your garage door opener (if it has one) because they collect dust easily.
If you notice any irregular noises when operating a garage door, immediately check all bolts on hinges, roller tracks, etc., tightening these parts with a screwdriver until the noise stops.
Using Grease on the Door
When greasing a garage door, start with lubricating upper sections (where hinges are located) and end with bottom panels. Lubricate all moving parts in the right order very carefully because if you use too much force when opening or closing the door you may get grease where it could not be applied.
White Lithium Grease
This is a universal garage door lubricant for any garage door and it is inexpensive. If you use other garage door lubricants, make sure to read the instructions for use on the label before buying them.
If your garage door is very heavy, do not apply too much force while opening or closing because this could lead to serious injuries if panels fall on your head or on your legs during such operations.
Lubricating Hinges on Noisy Garage Doors
In case of removing multiple panels (e.g., in spring tension units) concentrate all efforts on one panel at a time, but never work alone when taking down these objects because they are extremely heavy and may be lifted together with track sections, which can be quite tricky unless you have good experience in doing so.
Never attempt repairing a noisy garage door before you read manuals that come with oil spray or garage door grease. Sometimes just using too much force when opening or closing the garage door causes components such as hinges and roller tracks to become noisy. In such cases, it is enough just to tighten bolts with a screwdriver without having to lubricate a garage door track or section.
Lubing up Locks
Lubricating locks is not necessary but if these components are exposed to harsh external conditions it is better to use special silicone spray for this purpose. If your garage door is very heavy, lubricating hinges or tracks may not solve problems with the noise. It would be a good idea to have engineers check overall moving parts because there could be some serious defects you do not even know about.
Types of Garage Door Lubricant
Some people use cooking oil and WD-40 to lubricate a garage door thinking it may solve all their problems. Unfortunately, they do not know that such materials may only temporarily solve the noise problem but if they use these items often enough, lubricants may cause more harm than good because they can accumulate dust and dirt as well as absorb moisture which results in sticking of hinges, tracks and other moving components of a garage door.
White Lithium Grease
If you use white lithium grease (do not confuse it with white petroleum jelly which is sold for household needs), make sure to apply this product very carefully without applying too much force when opening or closing a door because it could lead to breakage of panels or jamming of locks if you spill some of this lubricant on hinges or locks.
Using Silicone Spray for a Garage Door
Garage door bottom panels are usually made of materials that are very sensitive to moisture infiltration, therefore, always check whether these components are properly sealed before deciding which type of garage door lubricant to use because otherwise, you may be wasting your time and money.
It is not a good idea to remove all types of dirt from the garage door by scraping them with sharp objects because this could damage paint finishing which would lead to rusting of metal parts. If there is no other way out but to clean your garage door with water or some other cleaning material, make sure not to flood it because the door may drain the liquid immediately after cleaning in order not to promote the formation of rust.
When cleaning a door with water, use a soft cloth to wipe these components in order not to scratch them.
Lubrication Spray
Spray lubricant may be a practical solution in case you suffer from problems with a squeaking garage door. In addition to white lithium grease, choose a silicone spray or any other garage door lubricant that is specially designed for garage doors. If you are not sure which type of garage door lubricant to use, consult your local specialist because he may be able to recommend the best type of liquid-based on the present problem. Also, specialists may tell you how often you could apply garage door lubricants and which components could be treated with these products.
Final Reminder
Remember that not all types of garage door lube are safe for garage doors which means you could always read instructions before applying any kind of liquid to door components designed for this very purpose. Sometimes it is better not to use any type of garage door lubricant at all if your door only makes noise when opening or closing because this problem could be caused by other factors.
How to Deal with Rust and Corrosion?
To prevent rust and corrosion on a garage door, you may wipe the whole surface of these components with a dry cloth after cleaning them.
The best way to deal with this problem is to inspect your door from time to time and check all moving garage door parts and garage door rollers, for any signs of wear including sticking or jamming that home repair services may also be able to help you solve.
Never use corrosive substances to clean rust because they could be harmful to components especially if their surfaces are painted. For instance, muriatic acid is used for cleaning bricks but it is definitely not the best type of chemical for metal parts of a door.