Holiday Security Checklist: How to Protect Your Garage Door While You’re Away

Your garage door is one of the hard-working, and sometimes over-worked mechanical systems in your home. It’s responsible for daily access, security, and convenience. Opening and closing hundreds of times a year. But like more operating systems with moving parts, wear and tear, and repairs are a common denominator. Sometimes that disrupts your routine.  

In this guide, we’ll walk though the most common garage door issues homeowners face, what causes them and how you can fix them yourself- or when it’s time to call a professional. 

Garage Door Won’t Close

One of the most common frustrating encounters we face is when the garage door won’t close, even though it opened just fine. Why this happens:  

• Obstructive photo eye sense (the safety eyes near the bottom of each side track)  

• Misaligned sensors  

• Dirty or blocked sensors 

• Track obstructions 

• Remote/interference issues
  
  

How to Resolve:  

• Check for object or debris in the doors path  

• Wipe down the photo-eye sensors and ensure they’re aligned with each other 

• Look for a flashing light on the sensors, this may indicate misalignment 
  
  

If your door still wont close safely or stops repeatedly, this may be a sign of garage sensor alignment or garage door opener issues, best handed by a pro. 

Garage Door Won’t Open All the Way 

Another common complaint is that the garage door won’t open the way, it may start to lift, then reserve or stop short. This can be caused by: 

• Limited switch settings on the opened that aren’t calibrated correctly 

• Force settings that are too low  

• Track obstructions  

• Wear on rollers or tracks  

Simple Fixes You Can Try  

• Check the tracks for bends, dents, or debris and clean them out  

• Inspect rollers for wear; older plastic rollers often squeak and bind.  

• Adjust the openers limit and force settings  
  
  

Caution: If your door reserves before fully opening multiple times, avoid forcing it, this can damage the opener or springs. 

Garage Door Making Noise  

A smooth running garage door should operate fairly quietly. If your door is making noise – grinding, squeaking, rattling, or clunking, the culprit is often:  

• Dry rollers or hinges 

• Loose hardware 

• Worn or unbalanced springs 

• Misaligned tracks  

What You Can Do 

• Apply a quality garage door lubricant to rollers, hinges, and springs (avoid WD-40- use a silicone or lithium based spray) 

• Tighten loose bolts and screws along the tracks and brackets 
  
  

If noises persist after lubrication and tightening, it could indicate a deeper balance or spring issue, tasks equipped for a professional technician.  

Garage Door Remote or Wall Button Not Responding 

Sometimes the issue isn’t the door — it’s the signal. If your remote or wall control doesn’t work: 

• The remote battery may be dead 

• The opener may have lost programming 

• There could be interference from nearby electronics 

Quick Fixes 

• Replace the battery in your remote 

• Reprogram the remote and wall control according to your opener manual 

• Check that nothing is blocking the signal path 
  
  

When DIY Isn’t Enough 

Many garage door problems can be resolved with simple troubleshooting, lubrication, and basic adjustments, but often involve springs, cables, tracks or opener mechanisms.  

If you experience:  

• Persistent issues with your door not closing or opening 

• Loud banging or snapping noises 

• Broken springs or cables 

• Failure of sensors after troubleshooting 
  
  

…it’s time to call in a trained garage door technician.

Professionals like Allied Doors Keep Your Door Safe and Reliable  

Your garage door protects your home and family and when it’s not operating correctly, it affects security, safety and convenience.  

Don’t wait until a small problem becomes a big one. Schedule professional garage door inspection and repair to keep your door running smooth all year long.