How Does Summer Weather Affect Your Garage Door?

How Does Summer Weather Affect Your Garage Door?

When you buy your garage door, you will probably take the effects of weather on garage doors into consideration. For example, you may opt to purchase an insulated garage door to help keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Or, you may buy a steel or composite door to help protect you against rain, hail or snow beating against your door.

But have you thought about all the possible effects of weather on garage doors, especially summer weather? Here are some of the main summer weather issues you may encounter when it comes to your garage door.

Summer Weather Effects on Your Garage Door

Between the bright sun, high heat, humidity and storms, there’s a lot your door has to deal with in the summer. Here’s what to look out for and a few things you can do to prevent these issues. If you find summer weather has harmed your overhead door, call Quality Overhead Door for maintenance and repairs.

1. Heat and Direct Sun Rays on Your Sensors

Your garage door has a pair of photo-eyes as a built-in safety feature. They can sense an obstruction beneath the overhead door that signals the garage door to reverse directions to avoid crushing whatever is in its path. The photo-eyes can’t always tell the difference between a beam of direct sunlight and an actual obstruction. If your garage door seems to be going up randomly, this may be the reason.

Some sensor manufacturers produce eyeshades for the sensors to prevent the effects of direct sunlight. You can contact your dealership to ask about having these installed. If the manufacturer doesn’t have eyeshades, you have two other options. You can DIY some eyeshades out of cardboard or aluminum foil to shield your sensors. Another solution, which one of our professional technicians can help you with, is to flip the receiver and sender sensor, which might eliminate the sunlight interference you’re experiencing.

Besides sunlight, heat also affects garage door openers. Many electronics are sensitive to extreme temperatures, and heat can affect the sensors and the wiring for the operator motor. Using an insulated garage door and keeping your garage cool can protect these sensitive components from excess heat. A garage door professional can also tune-up your door for summer, making some heat-related adjustments. 

2. Humidity

Toledo sees an average relative humidity of 75.6% in August. Moisture is the enemy of smooth, frictionless motion. When it gets hot, you may find that your garage door is sticking, not going up or down smoothly or getting stuck.

Humidity can have particularly adverse effects on wooden garage doors. Without proper care, the excess moisture can ruin the beautiful, handcrafted wood.

To avoid or resolve this problem, always have garage door lubricant handy and lubricate all your garage door parts at least once a month, especially in the summer. Pay attention to moving metal parts such as hinges, metal rollers and springs. You can also lubricate the chain drive of your automatic opener. A garage door professional can recommend a formulation appropriate for higher temperatures and your brand of door.

Humidity can have particularly adverse effects on wooden garage doors. Without proper care, the excess moisture can ruin the beautiful, handcrafted wood. It’s essential to give your door a pre-summer pick-me-up, with a weather-resistant finish that protects it from humidity and sun.

3. Thunderstorms

A quality garage door should be able to stand up to your average summer thunderstorm without too many problems. However, summer thunderstorms can result in power outages or power surges.

To protect against power surges to your automatic garage door opener, use a single-plug surge protector. If your power goes out, your garage door opener may not work. On average, the duration of power outages in Ohio add up to 166 hours per year, and the number of outages usually peaks in July. So, a stuck garage door could quickly become an issue.

Make sure you know how to open and close your garage door manually using the emergency release. Teach yourself how to open your garage door manually from both the inside and the outside to protect yourself from getting locked in or out. Of course, if your garage door gets stuck open during an outage, you can contact us for emergency services. You may also want to invest in a garage door opener with a battery backup.

After a particularly wet and windy storm, it’s a good idea to check for weather damage. While a high-quality door should be able to take a beating, any holes or major dents could affect your garage door’s operation.

4. Fading

Over time, the sun beating down on your garage door may cause the paint to fade. While this does not affect the functioning of your garage door, how your garage door looks is important, too.

Even if there is nothing wrong with your garage door, if it's severely faded and you're unhappy with the appearance, you can consider upgrading to a new garage door to boost your home's curb appeal.

You’re probably careful to maintain the appearance of the rest of the exterior of your home, so don’t neglect your garage door. Give it a fresh coat of paint or stain every year or whenever you see it’s noticeably faded.

Cleaning and waxing your garage door is also an excellent way to preserve the finish. You can clean a Clopay® garage door with a wet cloth, sponge or soft bristle brush. Use either liquid dish detergent or a non-toxic, biodegradable cleaner. A steel garage door can also benefit from a liquid wax to protect against the elements, including harsh sunlight.

Even if there is nothing wrong with your garage door, if it’s severely faded and you’re unhappy with the appearance, you can consider upgrading to a new garage door to boost your home’s curb appeal.

Protect Your Garage in Any Weather With Quality Overhead Door

Protect Your Garage in Any Weather With Quality Overhead Door

The best way to make sure your garage door will stand up to all manner of weather conditions is to start with a quality garage door. In Toledo and throughout Northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, the way to do that is to order your door from Quality Overhead Door.

We are a Master Authorized Clopay Dealer, meaning we are a respected seller of Clopay doors, the finest name in garage doors. You can be sure your Clopay door will look great and stand up to severe weather conditions as well. We are also an authorized dealer of quality LiftMaster® garage door openers and other garage door accessories. Just give us a call, and we’ll set up your garage door fast and do it right.

Our experts have years of experience installing all kinds of garage doors for all types of homes, and we’d love to show you what we can do for your garage today. For a free estimate or to request garage door installation service or related garage door services, contact Quality Overhead Door today.


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