One of the most asked questions is, “how do I lubricate a garage door?” The biggest mistake we see is what to lube. Let’s start with the lubrication schedule first. If you make time just once a year to perform an inspection of your garage door, that puts you way ahead of the pack.
In most cases, customers pay no attention to their garage door until something happens. It should work for years without user intervention. Taking 10 minutes annually can turn those years into more.
On the lubrication front, we recommend a spray lubricant made specifically for the weather in our region. In a pinch, use a lithium grease spray. However, we’ve seen that stuff behave badly in cold weather. We carry specially formulated spray available at all of our locations.
If you take nothing from this article except this one piece of advice, it will all be worth it. Don’t use WD-40 on your garage door! It’s a common misconception that this product lubricates.
In fact, it acts more like a solvent. By using WD40 for this application, you end up with the exact opposite effect of what you want to do. As an aside, you can use WD-40 to clean the track.
Next, never lubricate the tracks of your garage door. They need to be clean and dry to work as engineered, not oiled or greased. Greasing them up can cause all kinds of future issues.
If you have any substance on your tracks, it can attract and hold dust and other particles. Thus, it creates a veritable sandpaper-like surface for your rollers. They don’t appreciate that.
What to & where do we apply lube?
You need a clean rag and a can of lubricating spray. Start with the rollers themselves. Add a little squirt to the bearings. Most have them exposed slightly. Also, apply to the bearing shaft where inserted into the attached hinge.
Lubricate the hinges where they move. A little squirt goes a long way. Next, find the pulleys. Put some spray inside those bearings too.
Lastly, do the springs on your door. If you coat the rag generously and wipe down the springs, that keeps them rust-free for another year. Keep them happy and healthy!
When finished, run the door up and down 5-7 times. You should see a noticeable difference in operation. Unless, you already do this once a year.
Your Overhead Door™ Team
