While the Valley of the Sun is known for its incredible desert scenery and nearly-perfect sunny days year-round, the area is also notorious for its extreme weather conditions. With temperatures in Phoenix reaching over 110°F for weeks at a time, Phoenix homeowners face unique challenges when it comes to keeping their home’s mechanics working. While most people have their air conditioning serviced when the temperature rises, many fail to take any action until their garage door breaks in the summer.
Extreme heat in Phoenix can wreak havoc on metal components, dry out lubricants, and even fry sensitive electronics. Proactively keeping an eye on any potential problems can prevent garage door breakdown, and if you’re currently experiencing problems with your garage door, a garage door repair Phoenix company can repair your door before summer hits hard.
How the Phoenix Heat Hurts Garage Door Mechanisms
The extreme heat in Phoenix is more than just uncomfortable in the garage; it can affect the parts of your garage door, too. By recognizing how heat affects your garage door, you can begin the process of garage door maintenance in Phoenix.
Metal Expansion and Misaligned Tracks
Many garage doors in Phoenix are built with steel, aluminum, and other metals. These metals expand in high temperatures. If your tracks were originally installed to be tight, expansion from high temperatures can cause the door to become misaligned and warped. This means your door may struggle to fit the tracks, putting stress on the motor and cable. Eventually, the motor, track, and cables may fail, requiring professional garage door installation in Phoenix to replace the whole thing.
The Breakdown of Garage Door Lubricants
The tracks, rollers, and hinges on a garage door require high-quality lubricants to run smoothly. But when the temperature climbs in Phoenix, these lubricants may start breaking down. In the Phoenix heat, low-grade oils and greases can become thin enough to leak out or bake into a sticky layer that attracts all of the desert dust around you. In these scenarios, the motor of your garage door will work much harder than usual to compensate for the added friction. In time, your motor will fail, and a Phoenix garage door opener repair will be necessary.
Proactive Strategies to Protect Your Investment
As the adage suggests, prevention is far more cost-effective than waiting for a breakdown and fixing things in the heat. Here are a few simple, summer-focused garage door maintenance tips to ensure your door performs flawlessly throughout the peak heat of summer.
Professional Garage Door Insulation
An uninsulated garage door acts like a giant radiator and transfers heat directly into your home. By investing in professional insulation, you can drop the surface temperature of your garage door by up to 20 degrees! This helps prevent the metal from the inside from expanding due to excessive heat, as well as saving money on energy bills, all the while protecting your stored goods.
Inspecting and Replacing the Weather Stripping
The rubber seals found on the bottom and sides of the garage door are your first line of defense when it comes to heat protection. Because Phoenix sees a high amount of sun exposure, the weather strip rubber on the bottom and sides often dries out and eventually cracks. When this seal becomes compromised, hot air pours into the garage, and monsoon dust begins to enter.
Tackling the Most Sensitive Part: The Springs
The most dangerous and common garage door part to fail during a heat wave is the springs. No matter what kind of spring your garage door has, either torsion or extension, these parts are under intense pressure.
How Heat Will Weaken Your Garage Door Springs
Your garage door springs contain steel and can lose their temper over time in excessive heat. Over the years, as these springs expand in daytime heat and contract in overnight temperatures, the steel molecules can weaken. As the metal expands and contracts daily in the 40-degree temperature swings between day and night, the molecular structure of the steel weakens. This is why garage door spring repair in Phoenix is usually needed as a result of springs breaking during operation.
Due to the heavy force applied to these springs, they are dangerous enough to hurt someone if handled improperly, so a professional technician needs to replace them if they snap while they are adjusting the tension and balancing the door.
Protecting Your Electronics: The Garage Door Opener
Your garage door opener is the “brain” of your garage door system. Modern units from manufacturers like LiftMaster and Genie contain circuit boards that are sensitive to high temperatures.
Overheated Garage Door Openers Cause Garage Door Problems
If the temperature in your garage goes over 130°F, the sensitive electronics in the garage door opener will overheat. This causes garage doors not to respond and to reverse back for no reason, or even for the opener to stop working, and this is why your garage needs ventilation. If your garage door opener is acting finicky and the remote does not work, or the garage door reverses for no reason, then you should call in an expert in garage door opener repair Phoenix to look at the sensors inside the garage door opener.
When Should You Call the Pros at Elite Garage Doors & Gates?
Although maintenance can help you avoid some problems, the desert can be very harsh. If your door is grinding, it is moving more slowly than usual, or you see visible wear and tear on your cables, you should get a professional tune-up.
We at Elite Garage Doors & Gates are familiar with the needs of Phoenix-area residents. We offer garage door repair Phoenix and garage door installation Phoenix to provide you with a safe and efficient door. We provide same-day service and are on call 24/7/365, even on the hottest of holidays!
FAQs:
How often should I lubricate my garage door in Phoenix?
Because of the arid heat and dust, we recommend lubricating the rollers, hinges, and springs every 3 to 4 months with a top-of-the-line silicone- or lithium-based spray.
Should I attempt my own garage door spring repair in Phoenix?
No: Garage door springs are under very high tension. Trying to work with them without the necessary training and tools can result in injury or severe property damage. It is always best to let a professional fix it.
Can insulation actually help me save money on cooling?
Yes: Insulating the garage door regulates the garage’s temperature, in turn regulating the home’s, reducing the overall cooling effort.
Why does my garage door opener work less efficiently during heat waves?
Intense heat can misalign the safety eye sensors or cause the circuit board to expand. It can be anything from a minor adjustment to a garage door opener repair in Phoenix. Let a professional sort it out.
