Not all garage doors are created equal. With varying styles and ages, the spectrum of doors moving up and down quietly and smoothly to loud and rickety is there. A squeaky garage door (the kind with high pitched squealing sounds) can usually be fixed. Usually because, unless rust and corrosion have taken over a door’s movable parts, you should be able to clean and lubricate the crucial spots to make for a quieter, smoother operating motion.
How to fix a squeaky garage door?
You probably know you should oil various parts somewhere on your tracks and hinges. Some even say to oil every moving part. While there’s some truth to that, let’s look at exactly where and just what you should lubricate with.
Springs, hinges, rollers and tracks can be lubricated with household WD40 or Tri-flow. Often, dirty or dry hinges can make your garage door squeak when it moves. If you see any thicker grease on any of these parts that may have been applied before, you’ll want to clean that off. Like honey, grease just attracts dust and dirty, causing obvious problems. You can remove the grimy grease by applying WD40. It will penetrate the grease, allowing you to wipe off with a rag. When the parts are clean, apply a coat of lubricant. As a general rule, always apply your lubricant onto clean parts. If you don’t have any WD40 handy, regular machine oil or motor oil can be applied. The big overhead torsion springs should be lightly sprayed with WD40 though. Rollers made of plastic or nylon need very little lubrication. Also, if you find any of these parts rusted or corroded, it would be best to clean them as best you can with an old toothbrush or small wire brush. Buying and replacing the part may be your best course though.
For the chains and screw-drive type openers, lubrication can be a little different. In general, you can use lithium grease (spray-on works best), or silicone lube. Just spray it along the length of the chain or screw. Be careful to check your owner’s manual for your opener though, if you can. Depending on the brand, the manufacturer may specify which kind of lubricant to use. For example, Genie screw drives require the use of their lubricant. You can find it at our home store where they sell openers.
If after proper cleaning and lubrication still leads to your garage door squeaking, then try and listen carefully while opening and closing the door. It’s possible the oil you put on needs to distribute a little bit or you may have missed a spot.