Short answer

Once a month, look over the door and test the opener's auto-reverse with a 2x4 laid flat and the photo eyes by breaking the beam as the door closes; the door must reverse both times. A few times a year, check the balance by hand, lubricate the hinges, roller bearings and springs (not the tracks), and look at the weatherseal. Never adjust springs, cables or the bottom brackets yourself; if the door is out of balance, a technician adjusts it.

Why it's worth ten minutes a month

The garage door is usually the biggest moving object in a home, and it's held up by springs under high tension. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's garage door safety sheet asks homeowners to inspect the door and opener every 30 days, and the door industry association DASMA's safety tips recommend monthly safety checks plus a yearly visit from a trained door systems technician.

The CPSC sheet also explains why the reversing tests matter: it counts about 73 children between 2 and 14 trapped and killed under automatic garage doors since March 1982. The tests below take a few minutes.

Monthly: look, listen, test

1. Look and listen

With the door closed, look at the springs, cables, rollers, hinges and brackets from inside the garage. Chamberlain's maintenance schedule suggests a monthly check of the door and hardware for damage or wear and of the tracks for debris, and operating the door while listening for unusual noises. Frayed cables, a gap in a torsion spring, or grinding and banging are reasons to call a technician. For noises specifically, see noisy garage door.

2. Auto-reverse (contact) test

  1. Open the door fully.
  2. Lay a 2x4 flat on the floor in the middle of the doorway. DASMA's TDS 167 describes this as a 1 1/2 inch high solid object, such as a 2x4 laid flat.
  3. Stand clear and close the door with the wall button or remote.
  4. The door should reverse when it touches the board and go back up.

If it doesn't, CPSC says to disengage the opener until it's adjusted according to the owner's manual, repaired or replaced. Use the door by hand in the meantime.

3. Photo-eye (sensor) test

  1. Open the door fully.
  2. Start closing it with the remote or wall button.
  3. Wave an object, such as a broom handle, through the beam between the two sensors near the floor.
  4. The door should stop and reverse.

While you're there, check the sensors are firmly mounted and pointed at each other. The beam should be no more than six inches above the floor, per DASMA's opener safety tips. Chamberlain suggests keeping the sensor lenses clean and aligned. If a sensor light is off or flickering, see garage door sensor repair.

Garage door safety sensorsView of an open garage door opening from inside the garage. A photo-eye sensor is mounted on each side of the opening near the floor: a sending unit on one side and a receiving unit on the other, each with a small indicator light. An invisible infrared beam runs between them, no higher than 6 inches (15 cm) above the floor. An inset shows a receiving unit knocked out of line so the beam misses it; its light goes off or blinks and the door will not close normally.Invisible infrared beamSending unitlight shows powerReceiving unitlight on when alignedNo higher than 6 in (15 cm) above the floorOut of lineKnocked out of line, the beammisses the receiver. Its lightgoes off or blinks, and the doorreverses or won't close.
Residential openers must reverse when the beam is broken. The CPSC and the door industry (DASMA) say to mount the sensors no higher than 6 in (15 cm) above the floor. Indicator light colors and behavior vary by brand.

Every few months: the balance check

A balanced door is one the springs are holding up correctly. CPSC describes it as a door that "will stay in place when stopped in any partially-open position."

  1. With the door closed, pull the red emergency release on the opener to disconnect the door. (DASMA cautions that a door may start moving unexpectedly when you disengage the opener, so stand clear.)
  2. Lift the door by its handle to about waist height and carefully let go. Lowe's maintenance guide uses this waist-level test.
  3. If it stays put, it's balanced. If it drops or rises on its own, it isn't.
  4. Lower it, then reconnect the opener by running it through a cycle or re-engaging the trolley as your manual describes. See how to open a garage door manually for re-engaging.

If the door is out of balance, don't try to fix it. Balance is set by spring tension, and CPSC says unbalanced doors, or ones that bind or stick, "should be serviced by a professional." A door that feels very heavy may have a broken spring. See garage door spring repair.

Twice a year: lubrication

Lubrication quiets the door and reduces wear. What matters is where you put it.

Do lubricate:

  • Hinges between the sections
  • Roller bearings and roller shafts. If you have nylon rollers, Lowe's says to lubricate the bearings but keep oil off the nylon wheel itself.
  • Torsion springs and the spring shaft bearings. Raynor, a door manufacturer, includes the spring shaft, end bearings "as well as the spring itself" in its lubrication guide. A light spray is all it needs; this is not a spring adjustment.
  • The opener rail, on chain and screw drives, as your opener manual describes. Chamberlain suggests white lithium grease on the rail every two to three years. Check your manual before greasing anything on a belt drive.

Don't lubricate:

  • The tracks. Raynor says "there is no need to lubricate the tracks", Chamberlain says to avoid them, and Lowe's warns that lubricant on the roller tracks "can cause the door to slip and become unbalanced." Wipe the tracks clean instead.

Which lubricant? Follow your door or opener manufacturer. Raynor recommends a product labeled "silicone" or "garage door lubricant" and warns that petroleum-based general-purpose sprays tend to attract dirt and debris. Manufacturers differ, so the owner's manual wins.

Once a year: the rest of the checklist

  • Tighten the hardware you're allowed to touch. Lowe's suggests checking that bolts and screws on the hinges, roller brackets and track are tight. Leave the bottom brackets (the brackets at the bottom corners where the lift cables attach) alone: they're under spring tension, and DASMA's TDS 167 lists steel brackets and cables among the parts you shouldn't try to adjust or remove.
  • Check the weatherseal. Look at the rubber bottom seal for cracks, flattening or daylight showing under the closed door, and at the stop molding along the sides and top. See garage door weatherseal replacement.
  • Test the battery backup, if your opener has one. DASMA's TDS 167 test: with the door closed, unplug the opener and run the door with the wall button or remote.
  • Check the wall button and manual release. DASMA recommends the wall button be mounted at least five feet above the floor, out of children's reach. TDS 167 says the manual release handle should be red and no more than six feet above the floor.
  • Wash the door. Lowe's suggests cleaning the outside at least once a year with a mild detergent solution and a soft cloth, then rinsing.
  • Look for warning labels on the springs and bottom brackets. They tell you and any technician which parts are under tension.
Where garage door weather seals areOutside view of a closed sectional garage door. Stop molding with a rubber flap runs across the top of the opening (1) and down both sides (2), pressing against the face of the door. The joints between panels (3) close against each other when the door shuts. A rubber bottom seal, often called an astragal, slides into an aluminum retainer along the bottom edge of the door (4). A threshold seal is a raised strip glued to the garage floor under the door (5). The inset shows a cut through the bottom edge: the retainer, the bottom seal and the threshold strip it presses against.123451Stop molding, top2Stop molding, sides3Joints between panels4Bottom seal in its retainer5Threshold seal on the floorCut through the bottomretainerbottom sealthreshold
Seal styles vary by door. Daylight or water at any of these points usually means a seal is worn, torn or out of adjustment.

Things that are always a technician's job

  • Broken, gapped or stretched springs
  • Frayed or loose lift cables, or cables off the drum
  • A door that's off track, crooked or jammed
  • Bent or loose bottom brackets
  • A door that fails the balance test
  • An opener that won't reverse after adjustment per the manual

DASMA's safety tips recommend a yearly visit from a trained door systems technician. Before booking a tune-up, ask for a written list of what it includes (for example a balance check, cable and spring inspection, and the reversing tests) and what would cost extra.

A simple schedule

  1. Monthly: look and listen, auto-reverse test, photo-eye test.
  2. Every few months: balance check.
  3. Twice a year: lubricate hinges, roller bearings, springs; clean tracks.
  4. Yearly: tighten allowed hardware, check weatherseal, test battery backup, wash the door, and book a professional inspection.

Frequently asked questions

How often should a garage door be serviced?

Do the quick safety checks yourself every month, as CPSC recommends, and have a trained door systems technician inspect the door once a year, as DASMA recommends.

How do I test my garage door auto-reverse?

With the door open, lay a 2x4 flat on the floor in the doorway and close the door. It should reverse when it touches the board. Then close it again and wave a broom handle through the photo-eye beam; it should reverse again. If either test fails, stop using the opener until it's adjusted or repaired.

Should I lubricate garage door tracks?

No. Raynor and Chamberlain both say to skip the tracks, and Lowe's warns that lubricant on the tracks can make the door slip and become unbalanced. Clean the tracks with a cloth and lubricate the hinges, roller bearings and springs instead.

What if my garage door is out of balance?

Have a technician adjust it. Balance is set by spring tension, which is dangerous to adjust without training and proper tools. Until then, use the door gently and don't leave it partly open.

Can I tighten the bolts on my garage door?

Hinge, roller bracket and track bolts, yes. Never loosen or tighten the bottom brackets or anything else the springs and cables attach to; those parts are under high tension.