When was the last time you carried out routine preventive upkeep on your garage door or your garage door opener? While your garage door opener is a great convenience and works effectively, almost all residence house owners take it for granted.

According to a current US analysis, 45% of homeowners who have a garage utilize the garage door as the primary point of entrance into their home. In addition, a separate investigation indicates that 71% make use of their garage door openers to go into their houses. That means that the successful operation of your garage door and its opener can be awfully significant in your day by day life.

Just like all mechanical devices there comes an instance when your garage door opener will not work. Unfortunately it will in all probability occur at the most annoying time. That's why a little anticipatory maintenance can be a wonderful way to make sure that you see problems with your garage door before something breaks.

This seems like adequate evidence to prove to anybody concerning the importance of consistent upkeep for their garage doors and openers. An essential thing to bear in mind is that a garage door opener can easily raise a a four hundred and fifty pound double residential door. Consequently, if a door reverses as it is closing, it is logical that the door opening mechanism should be completely checked out.

Children have a way of becoming enthralled by the operation 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 allow them to fool around with the wall control panel.

Here are a few important routine preventive maintenance tips.

Twice a year, you should deactivate the automatic opener while the door is closed. This can be done through pulling on the red rope or pull rope.

Then carry out a balance test. Once the door is in "manual mode" 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. Get in contact with a garage door company so that they can further establish your problem.

Visually check rails, chain/belt and mounting brackets on your garage door opener. Horizontal rails should always be parallel to assure that the door operates as it should.

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

Do a reversal test. Make sure that the reversal mechanisms of your garage door opener are working. Since 1996, all garage door openers are equipped with two safety systems. The first one is a photocell system that will stop and reverse the movement 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.