When you’re closing up your Traverse City home for the season, you probably have a long list of tasks to check off before you hit the road. When it comes to protecting your property from the elements, animals, and unwanted visitors during the off-season, no part of the home is more important than the garage door. That’s why we’re going through a checklist for garage door maintenance for Traverse City, MI homes to make sure your property stays just how you left it.
Why Seasonal Homes Need Garage Door Maintenance Before Winter
Your vacation home probably doesn’t take much punishment in the summer months, but in Traverse City, winter is a different story. Because your home will likely sit unmonitored through the winter, proactive seasonal home garage door maintenance in Traverse City gives you peace of mind while you’re away and helps prevent water damage, pest infestations, or break-ins when you return.
Inspecting Your Garage Door Before Closing Your Traverse City Home
While an in-depth inspection of your garage door components should always be left to a Traverse City garage door tune-up pro, there are a few things you check yourself before closing up the property for the winter:
- Check the weatherstripping for deterioration.
- Inspect the door panels for damage.
- Check the alignment of the door.
- Check the tracks and rollers for operation issues.
- Check the cables for signs of rust or fraying.
- Visually inspect the torsion springs for damage.
- Check the balance of the door.
- Make sure the photo-eye sensors are clean and properly positioned.
- Test the auto-reverse safety feature.
- Test the opener.
If any of these parts don’t seem right, it’s a sign to call for a professional Traverse City garage door inspection, as you’ll likely need garage door repairs before winter arrives.
Checking Garage Door Springs, Cables, and Hardware
If the springs, cables, hinges, and other hardware in your door break, rust, or otherwise fail, your door may struggle to open or close or stay aligned. While you can spot some issues yourself, leave repairs to a professional garage door service in Traverse City, MI, especially if they involve the springs, which are under high tension and can cause serious injury if adjusted incorrectly.
Testing Garage Door Openers and Safety Features
Clean your photo-eye sensors, make sure they’re still positioned correctly, and test the auto-reverse feature with a small object placed under the door (never a body part). Also open and close it to make sure the mechanism operates smoothly. If there are any issues with the opener or safety features, call a pro for garage door opener maintenance in Traverse City.
Inspecting Garage Door Weatherstripping and Bottom Seals
Seals and weatherstripping keep pests and moisture out and keep heat in, making them essential for hygiene, safety, and efficiency. If weatherstripping is cracked, brittle, or gapped, it can leave the garage (and the rest of the home) vulnerable in winter, so contact a professional in Traverse City, MI, for garage door weatherstripping replacement.
Protecting Garage Door Tracks and Rollers From Corrosion
Over time, corrosion buildup on garage door tracks and rollers can prevent your door from operating properly and create a terrible noise whenever you use it. It’s much easier to prevent this issue than to fix it, so we recommend regular cleaning, occasional rubdowns with WD-40 or a similar solvent, and avoiding heavy grease lubricants that trap debris against the metal. If you notice heavy rust that won’t wipe away, we recommend contacting a team experienced in garage door service for vacation homes in Grand Traverse County, MI.
Lubricating Moving Garage Door Components Before Winter
While lubricant helps moving parts during use, it’s also important to apply it before you leave. Proper lubrication also protects metal components from freezing and snapping, a common problem when Traverse City temperatures plunge to 0ºF or below. For pre-winter garage door maintenance in seasonal homes in Northern Michigan, use silicone spray or white lithium grease on rollers, torsion springs, and hinges.
Preventing Moisture and Snowmelt From Entering the Garage
Water infiltration is a major concern for your vacation home’s garage over the winter, as rain and snowmelt can seep under the door and cause property damage, wood rot, or mold growth. So when you’re doing garage door maintenance before winter in Traverse City, consider adding a small extra threshold seal to the floor beneath the garage door and making sure your weatherstripping is in good condition.
Securing Your Garage Door During Extended Vacancies
Another key part of garage door winterization is to keep it secure from would-be intruders. If you have a smart opener, you can probably set the door to ‘vacation mode,’ which disables remote controls, wireless keypads, and programmed vehicles from opening the door until you return. Otherwise, engage any slide bolts on the door, lock the interior door to your garage, and consider adding a padlock for extra security.
Preparing Garage Door Openers for Power Outages
If there’s a power outage and you need to get into your garage, be prepared. Your opener should have an emergency release cord that allows you to operate the door manually. Check your opener for this and familiarize yourself with how it works.
How Northern Michigan Winters Affect Garage Door Components
As any local can tell you, winters in Northern Michigan can be pretty serious business. But in addition to driving up heating costs and snowing us in from time to time, the cold weather can also affect the components of your garage door in surprising ways, such as:
- Freezing temperatures cause unlubricated metal parts to contract and even snap.
- Shrinking metal also tightens clearances for rollers and tracks, making operation jerky, loud, and unpredictable.
- Grease and oil thicken in cold weather, increasing friction instead of reducing it.
- When operating the door under high friction and metal stress, it can overwork the opener motor and possibly burn it out.
- If snowmelt accumulates around weatherstripping and refreezes, it can freeze the seal to the concrete and rip it off if you try to open the door without thawing it first.
- Freezing weather can also dehydrate and crack weatherstripping, leaving the garage vulnerable to moisture, rodents, and insects.
- If road salt from vehicle tires gets into your garage, it can cause severe corrosion on metal hardware.
- Extreme cold can damage circuit and motor components, leading to electrical faults and failures.
To avoid these issues, keep up with garage door winter maintenance in your Traverse City vacation home.
What to Check When Reopening Your Seasonal Home
When you return to your Traverse City vacation home in spring or summer, check a few things before heading to Clinch Park Beach. Here’s how to do a vacation home garage door inspection after a Traverse City winter:
- Check cables, springs, rollers, hinges, tracks, and other hardware for damage.
- Clean the tracks of dust, cobwebs, and dirt.
- Inspect the weatherstripping to make sure it survived the winter.
- Check lubrication of moving parts and reapply if needed.
- Test your opener.
- Ensure the photo-eye sensors are clean.
Why Traverse City Homeowners Choose M&M Garage Doors
When Traverse City homeowners need help with garage door safety inspections and maintenance, they call M&M Garage Doors. With countless glowing reviews, resources to help homeowners learn about garage door care, and a reputation for quality work, we’re one of the top local companies for garage door installation, repair, and maintenance. Whether you have questions about garage door maintenance or need a professional to inspect and prepare your door for the season, we’re just a call away.
Schedule Seasonal Garage Door Maintenance in Traverse City
Do you need garage door repair or installation, or would you like to look into a custom design? M&M Garage Doors is experienced and 5-star rated! Upgrade your home’s curb appeal with a garage door built for Michigan weather! Explore our premium options featuring Aluminum Garage Doors, Copper Garage Doors, Faux Wood Garage Doors, Glass, Hardwood, and Steel!
Contact M&M Garage Doors to schedule a Garage Door Inspection today!
