When one of my children was playing with our garage doors a few years ago, we heard a piercing scream that we will never forget. She had gotten her fingers pinched in the side of the door, and we knew that we had to help her--and fast. Because of our quick actions and first aid, we were able to take care of the problem. After we returned home, I started thinking about ways to keep our kids safe around garage doors. This blog contains loads of helpful information about maintaining your garage doors, looking after your curious children, and preventing serious injury.
If your garage door is so loud and creaky that you hate using your garage late at night, it's time to find out what's wrong with your door so you can make it quieter. You could hire a garage door repair service to fix your door, but there are some things you might be able to do yourself that make the door quieter. Here are four reasons for a noisy garage door and repairs that might help.
1. The Rollers Are Worn Down
Your door could have nylon or metal rollers. If the rollers are metal, you might make them quieter by adding lubrication. Check your owner's manual to ensure you buy the right product and then apply it to the rollers to see if that reduces the noise when your door opens and closes.
Don't use a lubricant on rollers made of nylon. If nylon rollers are worn down, they need to be replaced by a garage door repair service. When they replace the rollers, you'll probably want to stay with nylon since these are usually quieter when they're in good shape and you won't have to worry about lubricating them.
2. Track Screws Are Loose
The tracks on the sides of the door have to be secure against the garage wall or the tracks will rattle when the door opens and closes. The tracks may get so loose that a track gets bent or damaged and causes even worse rattling and scraping.
Watch your door as it goes up and down for movement of the track. If screws are loose, tighten them without making them over tight. If a track is bent, you might try to straighten it, but if the door continues to catch on the bent area, call a service professional for help. The track may need to be replaced.
3. Hinges Are Loose
The hinges on the door can also come loose and cause the door to rattle. You can tighten the hinges if the only problem is loose screws. However, it's possible the hinges are worn out due to years of movement. If the hinges are damaged, they need to be replaced to make your door safer and so it operates quietly.
4. The Spring Needs Lubricant
Follow your owner's manual for the right way to lubricate your garage door spring and how often you should do it. You may need to spray lubricant on the spring a few times a year to keep it from being noisy. However, if the spring is suddenly making loud noises, or if your door stops working, then call a professional to take a look because bad springs are dangerous to be around or attempt to repair.
If your garage door is rattling despite your best efforts, consider contacting a garage door repair service today.
Share11 August 2020
