Your residential garage door is a key part of your home, but it's probably not often at the front of your mind. But if you want your garage door to last for a long time without having any significant issues or needing any repairs, you'll have to perform maintenance on it just like you would for any other part of your house. One of the areas of your garage door that can see the most wear and tear is the track, as this is the section the door literally moves through every single time you open or close it. Here's how you can keep your door moving as it should through the tracks day after day and year after year.

First, Close and Shut Off Power to the Door

If you're going to be performing maintenance on your garage door's tracks, you need to make sure it won't accidentally move along the tracks while you are on the job. Close the door and then find your garage door's power source and make sure it's disconnected. If you're having difficulty finding the power source or you can't quite reach it without straining your back, you could also just cut power from the circuit breaker.

You Can't Lubricate with Gunk in the Way

As time passes, it's likely your garage door will pick up some random leaves, grass clippings, and other gunk. If you leave this untreated, the garage door is going to have a harder and harder time moving through the tracks. If things become really difficult, the extra strain could actually cause wear and tear or damage to the garage door's moving parts. 

So the first thing you'll want to do is remove as much of this gunk as you can. Get a cloth and wet it and try to pick up as much of the stuff that's trapped inside the tracks as you can. Another method you could use is to brush the tracks with an old toothbrush, at least until some of the gunk is loosened and easier to pick up with the cloth. If even that isn't working, you might need to resort to a vacuum with a hose that can fit directly into the narrow width of the track.

Coat with Lithium Grease

Once the gunk is gone, lubricate your track with lithium grease. Do not use oil, as that can actually encourage further buildup of dirt and dust. Then, open and shut the garage door a few times to make sure everything is operating smoothly.

If your garage door track looks like it needs professional help, reach out to a residential garage door repair service, such as Guaranteed Door Service, today.

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