Garage doors can start squeaking at any point, which can happen to doors, both old and new. In fact, it doesn’t matter the age or brand of garage door you’ve chosen. The reality is that a squeaky garage door can happen to anyone at any time. If your garage door is part of your business or warehouse, you already know how important it is to get rid of the problem.
Because it can affect your customers’ impression of how well you are doing. Whether you’re a business owner or a homeowner, having squeaky doors is no way to live. And below are the five best ways to deal with a squeaky garage door.
Tighten the Nuts on the Door
The first thing you should do is open your garage door and listen because you’ll want to locate where the squeak is coming from. For most garage doors, you’ll need either a socket wrench or a crescent wrench to do the job. Go through the entire garage door and find all the nuts and bolts you can, and don’t forget to look at the door track as well.
If you find a nut or bolt rusted, go ahead and spray it with a low-viscosity penetrating fluid – think WD-40 or PB Blaster. Once you’ve allowed it to soak into the nut or the bolt, use your wrench to put some pressure on it. Go ahead and tighten each bolt, but you don’t want them too tight.
What should you do if the nut is stuck and won’t budge? In worst-case scenarios, you’ll have to cut it off, but don’t do this until you’ve tried everything possible first. Once you’re finished with this process, open and then close the garage door two to three more times. If you don’t hear the squeak this time, you’ll know the job has been successful. If you do listen to it, start the process to see where the squeak might be coming from.
Try a Different Type of Lubricant
There are several lubricants you can use to stop the squeaking of your garage door. And not all of them are expensive lubricants that you can only find at a hardware or home-improvement store. For instance, did you know you can use car oil as a lubricant for your garage door? It’s a lot easier to do than you think.
The first thing you’ll need to do is tap the hinge pin on your Door with a hammer, then coat the pin with a thin layer of engine oil. Second, work the pin back into the hinge. Then open and close the door a few times to distribute the lubricant and make sure it doesn’t miss a spot.
If you still hear some squeaking, go ahead and repeat the procedure.
In most cases, the first go-round will be enough to take care of the problem. Once the squeak is finally gone, take a damp cloth and wipe off all of the excess built upon the hinge pin and the area surrounding it. This isn’t your average everyday garage door lubricant, to be sure, but for most people, it will work in a pinch.
Try Replacing the Garage Door Rollers
There are many types of rollers for your garage door, and if the door is a metal one or an inexpensive one. They can squeak quite. Cheap rollers squeak because they wear out over time, and metal rollers squeak because they bend or rust after a while. Once you’ve discovered that the rollers are the problem, replacing them is your best solution. Naturally, you’ll want to avoid metal rollers or rollers that are too inexpensive.
The best type of rollers is usually the nylon rollers, and you’ll want to buy an entire set of them to make sure the replacement is successful.
Even if only some of the rollers have gone bad, it’s best to replace all of them with nylon rollers. Yes, they are more expensive than metal rollers – roughly 30% more, in fact – but they will last much longer and be more of a long-term solution.
Most garage doors need about a dozen rollers to work, and most of these rollers have a 4-inch stem and a 2-inch roller. But you’ll want to be sure about the size before you head out to the hardware store, so make sure you measure yours first.
Clean Your Dirty Hinge Pins
Dirty hinge pins can also make your garage door squeak, but the good news is that cleaning the pins isn’t that difficult. If your hinge pins are dirty, even the best lubricant on the market won’t make the squeaking go away. Instead, go ahead and remove the hinge pins and clean them with a steel wool pad. Make sure you clean every one of them and not just a few of them.
You’ll have to scrub each pin reasonably hard to get rid of all of the dirt and dust that might’ve been the reason for the squeaking. Don’t forget to coat the pins well with a lubricant before reinserting them and tightening everything up. Spray some lubricant on your garage door springs as well, over time they can get rusted and sound loud.
Is the Opener Chain the Problem?
Sometimes, the chain on your garage door is the problem. In this case, a garage door repair from professionals is always recommended for your own safety. You can likely replace the chain by yourself by trying to and opening up the garage door opener. If you check the drive your opener uses, you might notice the chain type.
These types used because they are the least expensive, they are also usually the loudest. If you look at the box in the center of your garage ceiling, you’ll notice a motor inside. And either a belt or a chain protruding from the box. If you can do it, replace the chain with a belt. Belts might be a bit more expensive than the chains. But they can reduce the noises you hear coming from your garage. You’ll notice an improvement immediately!
