Garage door openers are simple parts of our day-to-day lives, but a problem with one can be a huge inconvenience. Simple maintenance can help keep your garage door opener working, or alert you to a problem before it arises.

When you first get one…

familiarize yourself with your garage door opener’s manual release—it should be a bright red handle dangling from the drive chain overhead. In the event that you lose power or your garage door opener fails to work, pulling the manual release will allow you to open your garage door manually.

Every few months…

Garage door openers are equipped with safety features to prevent a person or object from being crushed. Test these features every few months to ensure they are still working properly.

To safety test this feature, fully open the garage door and place a small 2×4 or other wood plank on the ground at the center of the opening and close the garage door. When the door touches the board, it should start to reopen. If it doesn’t, you may need to adjust the down force control limit or schedule repairs.

Some garage doors have auto-reverse mechanisms that detects when something is in the path of the door without touching anything. To test this, close the door while waving a broomstick or plank in the door’s path. Never use a person to test the auto-reverse. If the garage door does not start to open after detecting the object, clean your sensors and check the distance between them and the floor to see if an adjustment is needed. If the issue persists, schedule repairs.

Visually inspect the springs above the door and on the tracks, the tracks and rollers, and door panel hinges. Any corrosion, damage or abnormality means it’s time for repairs.

Once a year…

wipe the garage door tracks with a soft cloth and clean off any cobwebs or debris that may have built up.

You’ll also want to lubricate metal moving parts such as springs and bearings with a silicone-based spray lubricant. Screeching and scraping noises while opening and closing are also signs your door needs lubrication.

If it stops working…

First, check the batteries in your remote and try the wall switch. Next, check your circuit breaker to make sure it hasn’t tripped. If the problem continues, it’s time to call an electrician and schedule repairs.

If your garage door opener needs repairs, call Mister Sparky® of San Antonio at (210) 899-2430 today!