As summer turns into fall, homeowners enter the transitional period of preparing their homes for winter weather. One part of your home that’s easily affected by cold weather is the garage door. Without this feature, your vehicles and your home would not be as secure as they otherwise could be. That’s why you want to ensure high performance from your garage door year-round, especially during cold weather. Keep reading to learn more about how cold weather affects garage doors.
How Cold Weather Affects Garage Doors
Cold weather can have a number of adverse effects on garage doors. Here are just some of the most notable ways winter weather can impact the state of your garage door.
1. Contraction
If your garage door is made of metal or steel, it’ll be very sensitive to contracting in response to cold weather. This contraction affects not only the door but other garage door parts that are made of metal, like springs, hinges, panels, tracks, rollers, and others. To prevent this contraction, perform regular maintenance on your garage door parts so they can work as they should throughout the winter.
2. Reduced Effectiveness Of Lubrication
Speaking of lubrication, you don’t want to pour any amount of it on all your garage door parts. When it comes to how cold weather affects garage doors, the effectiveness of lubrication can potentially be reduced. This happens when the weather is cold enough to freeze the lubrication, causing the parts to get stuck in place, rendering your garage door ineffective.
3. Frozen Weatherstripping
If you use weatherstripping to keep your garage door functional throughout the year, it can be very frustrating when it’s cold enough to freeze. For this reason, it’s important to ensure that your weatherstripping doesn’t freeze.
4. Fogged Sensor Eyes
Another way the cold weather affects garage doors is by fogging the sensor eyes. The fogging is a result of cold air. When the sensor eyes are fogged, it’s difficult for your garage door to properly open and close, so ensure that the sensors are cleaned and unfogged for maximum performance.
5. Frozen To The Ground
In some circumstances, cold weather affects garage doors by freezing them to the ground. If you live somewhere that gets lots of ice and snow, this outcome is especially likely. The best way to solve this predicament is to use hot water or air to melt away the ice or a tool to chip it off the bottom of the garage door.
6. Ice Between The Panels
Finally, another answer to the question of how cold weather affects garage doors is that extreme winter temperatures can lead to ice forming between the panels. When this happens, you need to use a heat source or other tool to remove it. Your garage door will be able to function properly when you take the initiative to maintain it.
Keep Your Garage Door Working With ASAP Garage Doors
We hope that knowing how cold weather affects garage doors will help you better prepare to handle any garage door predicaments that might arise in the winter. If you ever find yourself facing these problems yourself when the weather is extremely cold, you should be able to reach out to the best garage door repair service for help. You need a service with technicians who know how to best take care of your garage door and can give you the proper guidance to maintain it.
If you happen to live in San Antonio, you already have access to the best garage door service in the city with ASAP Garage Doors. From weather-based malfunctions to general maintenance, our technicians have the skills to address your garage door problems. Contact us today, and you will receive the best service possible for your garage door.