As a home owner, you may often take the garage door for granted. Day after day, you press a little button to automatically open the garage door. Unfortunately, the efficiency of a garage door can go down over time. A door may open and close slower or run into bigger issues like jams.
If you want to keep a garage door opener like a Liftmaster operating smoothly, then you should consider some of the following tips. The tips will keep Liftmaster openers running for years and also help with the condition of your garage door. With the help of professionals, you can ensure your garage door runs smoothly and uses less power.
1. Annual Tune-Ups
Even if you use the garage door opener on a daily basis and nothing seems off, it could take a professional to notice any problems. The condition of your garage door system will also have a direct impact on the way the opener operates. For example, if you have a damaged spring or dried out rollers, then the opener will have to work even harder just to lift the door up and down.
With an annual tune-up, garage door experts will inspect the door and the operational state of the opener. With a tune-up, you will enjoy a garage door open that operates at peak performance and goes up and down with ease. Proper greasing of springs and rollers will help make sure the garage door goes up and down in smooth motions.
The annual tune-up also includes a focus on the opener itself. Through tests, a garage door expert can determine any performance issues and make proper adjustments as needed. The tune-up may also include the replacement of small parts so the opener operates smoothly. After the tune-up, you will learn exactly what was changed and what to look for in the future if any problems were to occur again.
Not only does a tune-up help a garage door opener run better, but it will use up less power. For example, if a garage door is slow to open or close, then the motor will run for longer and use up more power. When it runs smoothly, the operation completes faster and you do not need to worry about wasting power or increases to your energy bill.
2. Surge Protection
A garage door opener is typically wired directly to the garage or through an outlet installed in the ceiling of a garage. When a big storm or power surge goes through your home, you do not want to worry about the power impacting the ability for a garage door opener to operate efficiently. A power surge could damage an opener or cause glitches that makes the opener impossible to operate.
If you are purchasing a new Liftmaster opener, then you could find a model with built-in surge protection. If you want to upgrade the model you already have, then you could rely on a garage door professional to add surge protection to the area. Not only will the surge protection help prevent a Liftmaster opener from any damage, but you can avoid any long-term issues that power surges cause.
Along with surge protection, some newer openers also have back-up battery features built into the opener. A back-up battery will allow you to still operate the garage door in the case of a power outage. Garage doors will remain stuck in open or closed positions. Without these extra protections, your garage door and opener could go through extra wear and tear, especially during storms that constantly cause a garage door opener to turn on and off.
If your opener does not have a back-up battery or surge protection, you can hire garage door professionals to install an opener that does those features. The dual-protection will go a long way in providing maximum efficiency in your opener.
3. Travel Adjustments
When your garage door opener was first installed, a garage door expert likely adjusted the travel position of the opener to ensure a garage door shut smoothly. The travel adjustment on a garage door will ensure a door doesn’t get pushed too far down or stop shutting too early while creating a gap.
Over time, wear and tear in an opener can impact the travel distance an opener is set too. If the garage door gets pushed down too far, then the impact could put extra pressure on a garage door opener. With some opener travel adjustments, the garage door will close more smoothly and create less wear on a garage door. It could also help prevent overuse of the garage door. For example, if you have a garage door that doesn’t shut all the way, then you may attempt to shut it multiple times before it finally touches the ground. The constant opening and shutting of the door can create a lot of wear on the opener’s motor and chain system.
4. Garage Door Uses
At some homes, you may have multiple garage door bays or garages you do not use on a regular basis. While less use of a garage door opener may expand the lifetime of the opener, you should not just let a garage door opener languish and go unused. Over time, the grease and oils used on the cables, chains, and pulleys could all end up drying out. The build-up of dust and debris from a lack of use could also impact the opener.
The garage door opener may not operate as efficiently and you could run into issues with jams or force the motor work extra hard to lift and close the garage door. Ideally, you want to test out the opener at least once a week or once every two weeks. This schedule will keep your garage door openers operating smoothly and help extend their life. Set calendar reminders or try to remember to open and shut the garage when you are home.
Profession Garage Door Services
At ADS Automatic Door Specialists, we want your garage door opener to run efficiently every time you use it. Whether you want a new garage door opener installed or a tune-up for your current one, we can help you each step of the way and provide extra tips to help keep your garage door operations running smoothly. Along with garage opener installations and repairs, we offer a wide range of other garage door services. These services include the installation of new garage doors for both residential and commercial properties. Garage door material options from us include aluminum, steel, wood, and glass options. We can provide a full gallery of garage doors to show you examples of our work in the past. Choose a garage door compatible with your opener and add a lot of value to your garage. We also provide gate installations and repairs for many exterior parts of the home.
Contact us at ADS Automatic Door Specialists to find out more information on our professional garage door services!
