Use Your Ears To Determine When Your Garage Needs Repair

When thinking about routine maintenance for your garage door opener, one important aspect that many residential homeowners don’t consider is their ears.  The way the system sounds can be just as telling as the way it looks.  Often, there will be some telltale sounds that can tip you off to an impending breakdown, which is something you want to avoid.  By catching problems before they start, you can avoid a costly repair job like a complete installation.

What sounds to look out for

The main thing you’ll want to do is listen to the system open and close the door a few times from outside your car.  Usually you only hear it work from inside your vehicle, which can dampen the sound.  A basic thing to be on the lookout for is excessive noise in general.  Often, small flaws in the alignment of the tracks or rollers – or gradually rust buildup – makes the system work harder than it needs to driving the chain or belt, which makes the system sound louder in general.

Another thing to listen for are any kind of jerky, squealing noises.  This could be a sign that the torsion coil trampoline springs are out of alignment and need adjustment.

Other key indicators

While it can be hard to distinguish, you’ll always want to be on the lookout for signs of weather damage.  If your bottom seal is cracked, you might start hearing a rough, grinding sound as the components in the opener become too dry.  When this happens, and you don’t want for your system to break down – schedule a checkup.  Something as simple as lubrication maintenance can save you a bundle if you do it before you have a real problem.  A little care now could pay off big.