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Winter is nearly here, and those freezing temperatures can lead to trouble for your garage door. Whether it’s hardened grease or damaged weather stripping, these problems can cause your car to be trapped inside the garage or stuck out in the elements. With a little preventive maintenance, though, you can avoid these problems and protect your car from the snow and ice.

3 Winter Garage Door Issues

1. Seized Metal Parts

When temperatures drop, metal shrinks, so parts fit loosely and move around more than they should. Metal-on-metal friction can cause those parts to seize or fuse together. When this happens, opening and closing the garage door is next to impossible. This makes greasing the door’s screws, springs, ball bearings, and other metal parts essential if you want them to survive the winter without getting stuck.

2. Excess & Hardened Grease

garage doorSince you want to avoid seized metal parts, it’s tempting to over-grease the garage door. The problem is, though, that excess grease can also prevent the door from working properly. If the grease gets on the door’s tracks, it could get stuck in a half-open, half-closed position. It could also knock the door off its tracks altogether. Because grease is meant for use in warmer weather, it hardens in the cold. When there’s excess grease, it stops all the moving parts from functioning correctly. To prepare the garage door for winter, use a solvent to remove hardened grease, then replace it with a silicone-based oil, which won’t harden in the freezing temperatures.

3. Damaged Weather Stripping

The ice, snow, and water that collect near the base of your garage door can damage the weather stripping. The weather strip may freeze to the ground when there’s enough snow or ice there. When you open the door, the frozen weather stripping will stick to the ground, rather than the door. Without that weather stripping, the garage door will lack much-needed insulation, which can result in higher energy bills for your home. To avoid damaging the weather stripping, keep snow and ice cleared away from the garage door. 

 

If you can’t seem to figure out what’s wrong with your garage door or how to fix it, turn to the professionals at Superior Overhead Door for all your repair needs. They’ll quickly identify and fix the problem, so you have a working garage door to shield you and your car from the cold. To schedule an appointment, give them a call at (203) 881-2207, and visit them online for more information on the services they offer. 

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