Clean Your Garage Door – Like most homeowners, cleaning your garage door hasn’t made it very high on your priority list. We get it. On average, Americans are working longer hours, driving kids around to one practice to another practice. Finding the time to maintain your home just doesn’t seem to come as easily as it used to, but why is cleaning your garage door important to do?

When is the Last Time you Cleaned your Garage Door?

Winter is around the corner, and there’s no better time than the present to start your cleaning your garage door. Ready to get started? Here are some things to keep in mind.

On average, homeowners should wash their garage door at least twice a year, spring and once in the fall. In some cases, homes in a harsh environment, such as a coastal area or areas that gets a lot of snow, may require quarterly cleaning. This is because the excessive exposure to salt can erode the finish of a garage door more quickly.

Sure, keeping your garage door clean makes your house look nicer — a definite bonus if you’re worried about curb appeal — but cleaning your garage door also provides a number of other benefits, too:

Prevent Rust:

Rust is caused when salt, dirt or other substances become stuck on your garage door. Not only is rust unsightly, but, over time, it can damage the integrity of your door. Regular cleaning prevents rust from forming on doors made of certain materials to ultimately extend the life of the door.

Prolong Your Door’s Finish:

Your garage door is exposed to the elements on a daily basis — rain, sun, wind, dirt — and all of these can take a toll, even on the highest-quality door. Over time, the finish on your door can become dull and, in some cases, damaged or eroded. If dirt and grime are left on the door over long periods, it can speed up the erosion of the finish.

While wood garage doors can and should be refinished periodically, keeping them clean means you can go longer in between refinishing. For doors made from other materials, you may not be refinishing them on a regular basis, but maintaining the integrity of the door’s surface goes a long way in keeping the door in good condition.

Maintain Your Warranty:

If your garage door is still under warranty, then you are required to clean it regularly to maintain the terms of the warranty. In some cases, failure to keep your door clean will void your warranty and prevent you from using it when problems arise. While we hope you never run into problems with your door, sticking to the terms of your warranty will give you peace of mind if something goes wrong.

Washing your Garage Door

Once you understand the benefits of regularly cleaning your garage door, it’s time to begin the process. It may seem intimidating, especially if you’ve never cleaned your garage door before, but it’s actually quite simple and can typically be completed with items you already have around your home.

Before you start, make sure you have the following:

Cleaning Solution:

A mild detergent, such as dishwasher soap or car wash soap is your best bet, making this project one of the cheaper home improvement jobs you’ll tackle as a homeowner.

Once you have soap in hand, grab a bucket and mix one cup of the liquid soap with two gallons of water. Never add bleach to your cleaning solution. Bleach should only be used as a spot cleaner for tough-to-tackle stains — more about that later.

Non-abrasive Sponges or Clean Cloths:

The last thing you want to do is damage your door’s finish by using an abrasive brush or sponge. Grab a non-abrasive sponge or cleaning cloth to scrub the door, like the same sponges or clothes you use for a car. Avoid using dirty rags that may have dirt or sand on them, as well as scouring products.

Once the door is clean, you’ll want some soft, dry cloths to dry off the surface.

Step Ladder:

Using a step ladder guarantees quality cleaning from top to bottom. After all, you don’t just want to clean the bottom half of the door! This will also help as you inspect the parts of your garage door, making sure everything is in good working order.

Once your supplies are ready, it’s time to get to work as anyone can wash the door. But, as you’re working, keep these tips in mind:

• Don’t be afraid to put some elbow grease into it. Scrub hard and even use your hands to remove tough spots or dirt that’s caked on the door.
• Use a bleach/water mixture to spot clean tough stains.
• Make sure to scrub the weatherstripping and trim around the door, too. This will prolong the life of your weatherstripping, a cost savin tip.
• Wash both the exterior and interior of the door. The interior, specially the bottom portion, is still exposed to dirt and grime.

What Not to DO:

Don’t Use a Pressure Washer

• Pressure Washer can damage the integrity of your door.

Don’t Mix Cleaning Solution and Bleach

• A bleach-water mixture can be used for tough stains, but it should never be applied while soap is still on the door or incorporated into your cleaning solution

Don’t Use Abrasive Sponges, Cloths or Solvents

• Using these products can scratch or damage the door’s surface and erode the finish.

It’s Time for a New Garage Door – A new garage door and opener provides curb appeal, which can increase property value and a level of security for your belongings and family. This intricate system, when properly maintained, works together to ensure the door operates efficiently.

To maintain their value and beauty, garage doors must also be free of dents, rotting, warping, and, most importantly, persistent noise. If your door is older, damaged, or noisy, you may want to consider replacing it.

It’s effortless to take a garage door for granted. Yet, a garage door is actually a handy and valuable entrance to your home.

When you find yourself regularly hearing unpleasant noises coming from your garage door, you know something is not quite right. In fact, it might be time to service, upgrade, or replace that door. Additionally, the garage door might be missing safety features. These become critical when you have young ones running around. Here are some helpful tips to help you decide if it’s time for a new garage door.

Signs to Replace your Garage Door – Several factors indicate it’s time to change it up with your garage door. Making the right decision depends on what you value most in your home and lifestyle, but some of the most important garage doors attributes you should keep an eye on are:

When it comes to home improvement, most homeowners are looking for something they can fix or change to give them a large and immediate return on investment.

Your garage door is one of the first things people see when they look at your home. You also probably use it several times every day, which means it needs to be working properly. This makes your garage door a great choice for your next renovation project.

You can typically keep a new garage door for more than a decade with the proper maintenance and care. However, there are certain reasons homeowners seek garage door replacement sooner than most homeowners. Some people adapt their homes to changing tastes, while others aim to increase their house’s resale value.

Speed:

No garage door will fly open or closed the second you hit a button because they’re large components that could hurt someone with too much speed. However, you should notice a response right away without any hesitation. If your garage door starts opening and closing much slower than it did when you first got it or the reaction is extremely delayed, it might mean you need a replacement.

Safety and security:

Garage doors are heavy enough to cause injury or even death if they slam shut unexpectedly. If you notice your door won’t close the whole way or that an automatic door doesn’t reverse when something triggers the sensor, it’s dangerous. Not only can these issues hurt your family, pets, and neighbors, but they can also damage your house and expose your home to anyone trying to break in.

June is the Garage Door Safety Month. Your garage door is a handy thing to have at home. When it begins pouring rain on your way home from the grocery store, you can get your groceries inside without getting wet. When you forget your house key, you can still get inside.

Garage doors cause thousands of injuries to people every year, and your pets are not immune to this potential danger. However, there are many things you can do to teach yourself and your household about pet safety while they are around garage doors.

Your garage door adds convenience to your home life, acts as a storage space, and keeps your car safe from the weather. But the garage door also poses a potential danger. Thousands of people are injured every year from garage doors. It’s important to know what risks they pose and how to avoid potential injuries.

Follow our garage door safety tips below to keep yourself, your family, and your pets safe at home.

Keep Your Pets Safe Around Garage Doors:

Keeping your pets safe around your garage doors is simple when you follow a few easy steps. To make sure pet safety is a priority at your home, follow these simple pet-related garage door safety tips:

Protect your garage door components:

Pets are unpredictable. While you most likely don’t think your pet would gnaw on garage door components or wiring, or even licking up chemicals or liquid, you really don’t know about. Make sure to keep them as far away as possible from important garage door components that promote safety. This goes for the tracks, too. Don’t tie or otherwise attach your pets to the garage door tracks that connect to the ground. It could be tempting to use this as a place to tie a leash, but any pulling your pet does on these tracks could pull the garage door out of alignment and pose a serious safety concern.

Know your pet’s whereabouts:

Cats like to hide in all sorts of places, even in the space above your garage door when it’s raised. Make sure there’s no pet sleeping or otherwise lingering in or on your garage door before raising or lowering it. Likewise, make sure there’s no pet in the garage door’s threshold before lowering the door. While your door is equipped with safety features that should engage its reversing mechanism when it senses something in the way, these safety features can’t always be counted on — especially if you have an older door. Make sure your pet stays safe by keeping up with its whereabouts at all times.

Garage Door Safety Tips

Make sure the garage door opener control button is out of the reach of small children.

Do not let children play with a garage door remote controls.

Never place fingers between door sections. Explain the dangers to children and consider pinch-resistant door panels.

Consult the garage door and opener owner’s manuals to learn how to use the garage door’s emergency release feature.

Visually inspect the garage door each month. Look at springs, cables, rollers, and pulleys for signs of wear. Please do not attempt to remove, adjust, or repair these parts or anything attached to them. These parts are under high tension and should only be fixed by a trained door repairman.

Test the garage door opener’s reversing mechanism monthly by placing a 2×4 board in the door’s path. If the door does not reverse after contacting the object, call a qualified garage door professional for repair. If the opener has not been safety1replaced since 1993, replace the garage door opener with a new one with safety beams and auto-reverse as a standard feature.

When leaving on vacation, unplug the garage door opener unit or use your wall console vacation lock security switch (an optional accessory on most openers) to render remotes unusable.

Do not leave the garage door partially open. When activated again, it may travel downward and come in contact with an object in its path. This also compromises a home’s security.

If the opener does not have rolling-code technology, be sure to change the manufacturer’s standard access codes on the opener and remote control, or consider investing in a newer model with rolling-code technology, which changes access codes each time the opener is used.

Never leave the remote control in the car when given to a parking attendant. A stolen remote leaves you more susceptible to home invasion. Always lock your car when left unattended. It’s a small inconvenience for safety and security.

When your garage door needs repair, you may need help fast. After all, a broken door can be a security issue and can affect your home’s security and energy efficiency. In some cases, a broken garage door can even be a hazard for your family, putting you at risk of an injury. Consult a professional garage door technician for Garage Door Repair Service due to safety hazards.

With more than 30 years of service, our award-winning team can handle many brands of doors and many types of problems.

Call us today +1 (519) 735-7790

So don’t wait for such grave issues to jeopardize the safety of your car and also your family. Instead, look for these signs, which may imply that your car garage door needs to be service or repaired:

It won’t Open or Close:

Sensor obstruction is one of the most common causes of garage door issues. Door sensors, or photo eyes, which are usually found at the base of your door’s track, can be prone to faulty wiring, misaligned sensors and obstructions. If your door is clear of obstruction and sensors are aligned and still won’t open, be sure to call a garage door repair expert.

Slow Response Time:

Observe how long it takes for your door to respond to your commands. It must typically begin to open or close within a second or two after you pressed the opener.  If you observe any delay in the operation, it might indicate that something is wrong with your door or the opener.

It Makes a Loud Noise:

A noisy garage door is the result of loose hardware, worn rollers, or the garage door opener itself. There are simple fixes, but to avoid the last minute urgent need of a garage door repair expert, it is better to keep your ears open to the noise coming from the garage door that seems unusual to you.

The door is off the Tracks:

If your door is visibly off its tracks, it can cause your door to malfunction and become stuck. This tends to happen to old garage doors or doors that have sustained damage over the years. You cannot do much from home to alleviate this situation, as it may require specific parts and other necessary equipment.

Uneven Garage Door Sections:

Garage doors have a tendency to sag over time if they are not properly maintained. When the door is closed, you’ll see large gaps under the ends of the door.

It is advisable to check and test the balance of your garage door at least once a month. This involves disconnecting the opener from the door and manually operating it. When you bring the door at about midway and leave it there, it must not continue to rise or fall. If it does, there must be something wrong with the tension spring or other parts of your door.

How to Keep Pests Out of the Garage – Animals, snakes, insects enter homes when access is favorable, and environmental conditions, shelter, or food exist. Eliminating these attractions and blocking entrances can be done at low or no cost and can reduce or remove the use of pesticides or traps, depending on your particular situation.

A garage can be a great addition to your home. It protects your cars and provides needed storage. It may even double as a workspace. But one thing you don’t want or need in your garage is bugs and other pests.

Unfortunately, these pests always seem to worm their way into garages. So, how do you keep bugs and other pests out of your garage? There are several methods. If you’re suffering from a garage pest infestation, here are some steps to take.