Twelve things people believe about garage doors. Some are true, some will cost you money, and one or two can hurt you. Tap Myth or Fact on each and see how you do. It takes about two minutes.
1. WD-40 is the right lubricant for a garage door.
Myth. WD-40 is a cleaner and water displacer, not a lasting lubricant. Use a silicone or lithium garage door spray on hinges, rollers and springs, once a year before winter.
2. The opener does the heavy lifting.
Myth. The springs do. They are wound to carry almost the whole weight of the door. The opener only guides it, which is why a door with a broken spring will not lift.
3. A healthy door, lifted by hand to half height, stays where you leave it.
Fact. That is the balance test. Disconnect the opener with the door closed, lift it halfway and let go. If it drops or shoots up, the springs need adjusting.
4. If one of two springs breaks, the opener can run on the other one for a while.
Myth. The second spring is the same age and is now carrying double. Running the door this way strains the opener, bends the top section and can throw a cable off the drum.
5. It is always safe to pull the red emergency cord.
Myth. Only when the door is fully closed. If the door is stuck open and a spring is broken, pulling the cord can let the door drop.
6. Garage door springs wear out by number of uses, not by age.
Fact. Springs are rated in cycles; one open and close is one cycle. A busy family uses up a standard spring years sooner than a quiet household.
7. A stronger opener will fix a door that feels heavy.
Myth. A heavy door is a spring problem. A bigger motor only hides it for a while and then breaks something more expensive.
8. Road salt can be the reason a door comes off its track.
Fact. In Minnesota, salty meltwater rusts the bottom of the lift cables and the bottom brackets. When a rusted cable snaps, the door goes crooked and jumps the track.
9. The safety sensors belong low, within about six inches of the floor.
Fact. They are there to catch a child, a pet or a foot under the door. Mounted high, they miss exactly what they were made for.
10. You should test the auto-reverse about once a month with a 2×4 laid flat under the door.
Fact. Close the door on the board. It should touch and go back up. If it does not, stop using the opener until it is adjusted.
11. If the door is frozen to the floor, press the button a second time to break it loose.
Myth. That is how seals tear and opener gears strip. Free the seal by hand with warm water or a flat scraper first, then open the door.
12. One of the world’s biggest medical companies started in a Minneapolis garage.
Fact. Medtronic began in 1949 in a garage in northeast Minneapolis. Its first month’s income was eight dollars.
Your result
Want to go deeper? Find out what your garage’s decade says about its door with the Garage Door Age Check, diagnose a problem with the Troubleshooter, or read about the companies that started in a garage.
Something on this list sound like your door? Call David at (763) 265-7671. Same day, price before any work starts.
Video: my quick winter garage door check. More on my YouTube channel.
Written by David Tuito, owner of David’s Urgent Garage Door, St. Louis Park, MN contractor #IR790255. Safety references: the industry’s DASMA maintenance guide and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s garage door opener safety sheet.