It’s that time of year again. The trees in your yard are turning those beautiful fall colors. Pretty soon, if not already, they’re going to start dropping into your yard. Once that happens, you need to be aware of the impact those fall leaves can have on the operation of your garage door. Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Cleveland, OH wants you to know why you should keep fall leaves out of your garage.
Proper door operation
Fallen leaves can cause problems with the general operation of your overhead garage door. If they pile up at the base of the door’s tracks, they can get swept up into it. Debris like dry leaves can build up in the tracks.
When this happens, the rollers do not move smoothly and easily. This will eventually result in jerky lifting and lowering as well as jams. To prevent this, you should do regular inspections of your tracks and remove any debris you find.
Insulation
Autumn winds push dry leaves into all kinds of nooks and crannies. As a result, the leaves have a tendency to pile up where you don’t want them. Clumps of leaves need to be swept out of your garage door’s opening. This will prevent them from getting caught by the door when it closes. If they get caught here, they can prevent the bottom seal from being snug against the garage floor. This can prevent leaking of heat during the fall and winter months, as well as allowing chilling wind into the garage.
Pests
As leaves make their way into your garage, they will find homes in corners, behind cabinets, and under shelves. These can provide an ideal nesting place for pests. The cool dark hideout these leaves provide is attractive to rodents like mice and rats; bugs like termites, ants, and roaches; and even snakes.
Make sure as you sweep your garage floor to remove leaves that you look under any shelving that has space underneath. Check behind any large furniture like workbenches or storage cabinets as well. You may also consider some preemptive pest control measures like bait traps or glue boards.
Safety Sensors
One of the biggest concerns with leaves piling up is the proper operation of your garage door safety sensors. If leaves block the laser eye of one or both safety sensors, the door will not function properly. The safety sensors function as an abort switch for your door.
The sensors send a beam of light across the very bottom of the door opening. If a person, pet, or object is blocking the light beam, the sensor stops the door from closing and rolls it back up. This prevents the door from causing damage, injury, or death by crushing whatever is in the doorway.
Making sure that these sensors are working properly is very important. Remove any leaves or debris from the path of these sensors to ensure uninterrupted operation. Once you’ve done this, check the LED. If it is blinking, the laser is not receiving properly.
Clean the eye lens by wiping it off. If it is still blinking, make sure that the two eyes on either side of the doorway are properly aligned. If you are still experiencing problems, call a service technician.
Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Cleveland, OH is ready to help you with any maintenance or repair needs you may have for your garage door. Give us a call today with any questions or concerns you may have. Our team of professional customer service representatives are ready to serve you and provide the answers you need.
