The garage door rollers give the smooth movement of your garage door from the tracks so that you will not have a hard time in opening and closing it. However, if you have poor-quality rollers, or you don’t maintain these regularly, your garage door will make a noisy and rough ride. Here are some tips you can use to keep your rollers in good condition.

Know Your Rollers

Every garage door roller has its own maintenance needs, depending on its quality. Get to know your rollers so that you will know what to do.

• Plastic Rollers – These are the rollers with the lowest quality. These rollers could deliver tolerable performance at its best and these are designed to last for a few years only. They do not have ball bearings unlike the other types.
• Steel Rollers – These rollers last the longest – could last for more than 2 decades. But this type does not perform the best since it is noisy.
• Nylon Rollers – The nylon rollers are the best since it is the quietest and it delivers the best performance. Depending on the quality, these rollers could last from 12—20 years. Some nylon rollers have ball bearings like steel rollers, some have ball bearings that are covered or sealed, but some do not have.

Safety Precaution

Before you start with your maintenance, it is important that you shut down any power for safety precautions. If you work while your door is open, this may cause injuries, hence it is important to unplug your opener.

You will also have to disconnect your opener so that you can move your door manually. Doing this will give you an easy access to lower rollers and can help you distribute the lubricant properly.

Checking the Rollers

It is important that you check the roller’s condition for you to know whether the rollers will need maintenance or replacement. Inspect the rollers individually and see to it that there are no missing chunks or cracks, not worn down, and not misshapen.

If you notice that your rollers need replacement, make sure to call for a garage door professional immediately. Know the rollers that does not operate well can cause damage to the parts of your opener. Also, your garage door could jump out from the tracks. Aside from that, they could also produce unpleasant grinding and squeaking noise.

Materials You Need

Garage door rollers maintenance is a very simple task. But you will need the right materials so that you can lubricate them properly.

Commonly, homeowners tend to commit a mistake by using WD-40. This one does not do good to your rollers. WD-40 is a degreaser, and you need to know that your rollers need grease so that it could function properly. You must always use a silicone- or lithium-based grease when lubricating your rollers.

In applying a lubricant, you have to use a handy cloth to wipe off drips. You may also have to put down a tarp or a cloth to protect your floor from the grease.

How to Apply a Lubricant

Here are some tips on how to lubricate various roller types:

• A plastic roller is lubricated by smearing the grease outside the roller where the shaft meets it.
• A steel roller is lubricated by smearing the grease to its ball bearings – these are at the innermost part of a roller, where the shaft meets it.
• Lubricate a nylon roller with an exposed ball bearing just as how you do it on steel rollers.
• Lubricate a nylon roller without a ball bearing just as how you do it on plastic rollers.
• Make sure not to lubricate a nylon roller that has a sealed ball bearing. Know that this roller type does not need maintenance.

Make sure that you lubricate these rollers lightly and wipe the excess lubricant immediately. See to it that you use the straw in the spray can.

Garage door rollers need to be lubricated every 6 months, or sooner once you notice squeaking noises. If you are not handy in maintaining any part of your garage door, you can ask some help from us. Just message Direct Service Overhead Garage Door Company and we will do our best to assist you.

Are you planning to purchase a new garage door? Why not consider a vinyl garage door? Get to know All About Vinyl Garage Doors in our next blog.