When was the last occasion you completed regular preventive maintenance on your garage door or your garage door opener? Although your garage door opener is a big benefit and works nicely, virtually all residence house owners take it for granted.

According to a current US study, 45% of property owners who have a garage utilize the garage door as the main point of access into their home. In addition, a separate study indicates that 71% use their garage door openers to enter their houses. That means that the successful operation of your garage door and its opener can be awfully significant in your every day life.

Just like all mechanised devices there comes a point in time when your garage door opener will fail to work. Unfortunately it will in all probability take place at the most bothersome time. That's why a little preventive upkeep can be a wonderful way to make certain that you notice problems with your garage door before something breaks.

This seems like adequate evidence to convince anyone concerning the importance of recurring maintenance for their garage doors and openers. An important thing to bear in mind is that a garage door opener can easily raise a 450 pound double residential door. Consequently, if a door reverses as it is closing, it is logical that the door opening apparatus should be thoroughly checked out.

Children have a way of becoming captivated by the action of garage doors. Left to their own devices they can stress a garage door to the breaking point by pushing the remote or wall button during the action of the door. Therefore it's important to keep remote controls away from children and do not let them fool around with the wall control panel.

Here are some important routine preventive upkeep tips.

Semi-annually, you should disengage the automatic opener while the door is closed. This can be completed through pulling on the red cord or pull rope.

Then carry out a equilibrium test. Once the door is disconnected from the opener verify if it is properly balanced. Open the door half way. It should remain there without you touching it. If this is not the situation, you may possibly have a cable or spring malfunction. Call a garage door company so that they can further analyze your difficulty.

Visually inspect rails, chain/belt and mounting brackets on your garage door opener. Horizontal rails ought to always be parallel to insure that the door operates correctly.

Oil all metal parts two times a year with a proper metal lubricant. The same applies for weather seals. Make sure to apply a silicone based oil. This will add years of worry-free operation to your garage door.

Do a reversal test. Make certain that the reversal mechanisms of your garage door opener are working. Since 1996, all garage door openers are outfitted with two safety systems. The first one is a photocell system that will stop and reverse the action of the door whenever a person or an object passes through the light beam. The second system will stop and reverse the door automatically if it senses any resistance while the door is closing.