Facts About Garage Door Springs and How To Maintain Them
Your garage is one of the most important components of your home. Therefore, you need to ensure that it is secure. A good garage door can offer the security that you need. It can also help increase the value of your home and improve its overall appearance. On top of all this, a garage door can offer insulation, helping your lower your utility bills.
How does this door’s system work? This door usually has a spring system that helps it to open and close smoothly. The spring system is usually made up of torsion or extension springs. Each of these springs functions differently.
Torsion Garage Door Springs
A torsion spring is an important component of a garage door. This spring usually stores mechanical energy, ensuring your garage door opens and closes with ease. It is usually horizontally placed above a garage door’s opening.
How does a torsion spring function? A torsion spring distributes your garage door’s weight throughout the entire unit, ensuring a balanced operation. That helps prevent the shaking of the door when it is being closed or opened.
When your garage door is lifted, this spring unwinds releasing the stored mechanical energy. This energy turns the garage door’s shaft which then turns the cable drums. When the cable drums turn, their cables wrap around them, lifting the garage door.
When you lower your garage door, the cables that had been previously wrapped around your drums unwrap. The door’s torsion spring also tightens and stores some mechanical energy. This energy is later used to open the garage door.
Extension Garage Door Springs
Extension springs are the oldest type of garage door springs. Like torsion springs, they help ensure that a garage door opens and closes quickly and easily. However, unlike their counterparts, they do not prevent the shaking of the garage door.
Extension springs are usually attached to a garage door’s corners. These springs usually contract when a garage door is opened and extend when the door is closed. As they contract, they release mechanical energy, which helps lift the door. To ensure that these springs remain in good working condition, you should have them maintained from time to time. Here are more details on how garage door springs are maintained.
Garage Door Springs Maintenance
Garage door springs help ensure that garage doors are light enough. That, in turn, makes garage door openers move easily, ensuring that the garage doors spring up and down quickly, easily, and quietly. To ensure that these springs operate smoothly, you should maintain them often. How? Lubricate them often and replace any worn-out garage door parts.
How to Lubricate Garage Door Springs
If your garage door has extension springs, you should not bother lubricating them. However, if it has torsion springs, you should lubricate them a few times a year. Otherwise, the coils will rub against each other, producing squeaky sounds whenever you open or close the garage doors. You can lubricate them using silicone or lithium spray. Either of these sprays will form a thick grease coat on the springs, protecting them from everyday wear and tear. Also, they will cling to the springs, and therefore they will not drip on the garage floor.
How should you lubricate your garage door springs? Spray the lubricant on top and across all the torsion springs. Once you are done applying the lubricant, close and open the garage door several times. That will help ensure that the lubricant gets distributed evenly across the springs.
Lubricating these springs at least twice a year will help minimize wear and tear, ensuring that your door lasts for a long time. How? The lubricant will form an extra layer on top of the springs, preventing metal-on-metal contact.
Proper lubrication will make your garage door springs less susceptible to corrosion and rust. How? The lubricant will form a layer that will protect the metal springs from moisture. You should, however, avoid using water-displacing lubricants such as WD-40.
When should you lubricate your garage door springs? You should lubricate them whenever you hear squeaking sounds from the garage door. If you continue hearing these sounds after lubricating the springs, look for a garage door expert.
