A Spring and Fall Garage Door Checklist

Spring and fall are natural times to check on a garage door. Spring is when you clean up after winter. Fall is when you get ready for it. Even where winters are mild, the change of seasons brings different weather, different pests and different daylight, and each one affects the door a little.

Here are two short lists, one for each season. Each takes about half an hour, and pairing them with something you already do, like changing the clocks or swapping out seasonal gear in the garage, makes them easy to remember.

Before you start, either season

• Unplug the opener before working near the door, the tracks or the rail.
• Keep kids and pets out of the garage while you work.
• Don't touch springs, lift cables or the bottom brackets at the lower corners. They're under high tension.
• Have on hand a lubricant made for garage doors, a dry cloth, a soft brush and a screwdriver or socket set for hinge screws.

Spring: clean up after winter

• Wash the door. Winter leaves salt, sand and grime on the lower panels. Use mild soap, water and a soft brush, and rinse well.
• Check the bottom seal. Ice and cold can crack or tear it. If you see gaps or daylight under the closed door, it's time for a new one. Our bottom seal guide shows what to look for.
• Look for rust spots. Salt and moisture start rust on the lower edge and on hardware. Touch up small paint chips early.
• Clear nests and cobwebs. Spring brings wasps, spiders and birds. Check the tracks, the corners of the door frame and the photo eye sensors. A cobweb on a sensor lens can make the door reverse.
• Do the regular basics. Wipe the tracks and lubricate the hinges and roller bearings, as in our maintenance checklist.
• Clear plants and mulch. Spring growth can creep into the bottom of the tracks or block the sensors near the floor. Trim it back and keep mulch and soil away from the door frame.
• Look for winter damage. Dents from a snow shovel, a cracked panel or a track bumped by a snow blower.

Fall: get ready for colder weather

• Check the seals for gaps. Look at the bottom seal and the side and top weatherstripping. Gaps that seemed harmless in summer let in cold air and water. Our guide to side and top weatherstripping explains how to check.
• Refresh the lubricant. Old, gummy lubricant stiffens as it gets colder, so give the hinges and roller bearings a fresh light coat.
• Close the gaps mice use. As it cools off, mice look for a way in, and a torn bottom seal or a gap at the corners makes it easy. A snug seal helps keep them out.
• Swap remote and keypad batteries. Cold is hard on weak batteries.
• Test the battery backup if your opener has one, and check the manual for when to replace it.
• Clear leaves from the threshold. Wet leaves trap water against the bottom of the door and can help freeze it to the ground.
• Check the opener light. Days get shorter, so make sure the light works. Use the bulb type your manual recommends.
• Review the manual release. Make sure everyone knows where the red cord is and that it's only pulled with the door fully closed. Here's how to open the door in an outage.
• Watch for low sun on the sensors. As the sun sits lower, it can shine straight into a sensor and make the door reverse at the same time each day. Our guide to sun and heat covers shading the sensors.

If your winters get hard, our guide to a door that won't open in cold weather has more.

Both seasons: test the safety features

Plug the opener back in and run the sensor test and the auto-reverse test. Both take a minute. Our sensor and auto-reverse guide walks through each one and what to do if the door doesn't stop and reverse.

Both seasons: a careful look at the heavy parts

Stand inside, clear of the door, and look without touching.

• Springs above the door: any gap in a coil, stretching or rust.
• Cables near the bottom corners: fraying, rust or slack.
• The door's movement: smooth and even on both sides, with no jerking or hanging crooked.

If you see anything there, don't adjust it. Call a professional. Our spring warning signs guide shows what to watch for.

Where a professional fits in

Your spring and fall resets cover the parts you can safely handle. Once a year, have a professional inspect the springs and cables, test and adjust the balance, check the opener's safety features and do a full safety inspection. Timing it with one of these seasonal resets makes it easy to remember. For the monthly side of things, see our maintenance checklist.