Do you know how to treat your garage door right? The garage door is often a mysterious part of the home to homeowners who have never seriously examined their garage door, but to the informed and vigilant homeowner, the garage door can actually be a mark of pride. Charlotte, North Carolina is home to a range of beautiful doors, but many homeowners never think to dream beyond the simple door that their home originally came with. The garage door remains an eyesore for many homeowners, who prefer to put it out-of-sight and out-of-mind rather than tend to it.

Today, we’re going to tell you an insanely simple tip to extend the life of your garage door AND keep pests out of your garage. This tip is so simple that you might already be doing it and just not know how much good you’re doing, but some of you might be accidentally making this mistake and not be aware of all the potential downsides!

The simple tip is to never leave your garage door partially open!

That’s all that there is to it! Some of you probably can’t imagine leaving your garage door open, but for some people that is totally normal! Leaving your garage door open logically puts strain on the mechanisms required to lift the door. The springs, cables, and motor that work together to lift your door are very tough, but they do wear down eventually like all other machines, and if you are leaving your garage door partially open, you are applying that stress constantly. Think of it like a weightlifter holding a small weight above their head: no matter how strong that weightlifter is, eventually they’re going to be worn down by holding the weight.

If your garage door opener is properly calibrated, then when your garage door is resting on the ground it is in its least-stressful position. As soon as you operate the door, the cables and spring begin to work in order to raise the weight of the door. If that weight is being held halfway up, then that strain is constant, and it will wear down your door faster than closing the door regularly.

Some people leave their door open for the sake of their animals. The truth is that animals shouldn’t be in the garage at all. Garages are typically very low stimulation environments, and even with the door cracked open they are rarely kept at a healthy temperature. The chemicals and tools often found in garage are a threat to any animal cooped up inside them. Plus, leaving the door open to let your cat in and out also lets the neighbors cats in, lets squirrels in, lets birds in, lets skunks in… and so. Soon the entire neighborhood’s menagerie of wildlife will know to come to your garage for some cool air and escape from the sun, or a dry place to spend the night. If you absolutely must keep a pet in your garage, install a dog or cat flap to let them come and go as they please, rather than leaving the door partially open.

Some others leave their garage door open to help control the temperature in their garage. With the range of affordable ventilation options, this is not the wisest tactic to take. Insulation can be easily installed by any homeowner, even someone with barely any technical skill, and they will be far more efficient than the airflow granted by leaving a crack open. In the summer heat, a poorly insulated garage will be responsible for superheating the rooms nearby – ventilation ducts, fans, and traditional insulation panels or seals will do a better job solving your problem than leaving the door open.

Lastly, many homeowners will leave their door open just a slight gap to keep intruders from getting in underneath the door. This idea is good in theory, but ineffective in practice – even with just a small gap, and way that a potential thief can get a tool inside your garage allows them to reach up and grab your door’s manual release. Once your door is disconnected from the opener’s chain, a would-be thief can simply lift the door open and take anything they want from your now-unprotected home. Obviously, leaving the door open just a crack is much safer than leaving it wide open, but both are more dangerous than closing it completely, and when it comes to keeping your family out of danger, why not make the safest choice?

We hope that you’ve found this blog informative! Homeowners don’t always consider the full effects of their decisions, and so we hope that this simple tip can convince someone to stop leaving their door partially open! Not only does this dangerous practice open up your home to intruders or animals, it also damages your door and opener needlessly. Take the simple steps to leave your garage door closed, and it will continue to work well for years to come!