Now that summer is over, it’s worth looking ahead to some of the challenges your home might face during the fall and winter. As the weather starts to get colder, for example, your garage and garage door can face the brunt of the cold, as they are typically less insulated and less heated than the rest of the house. The last thing you want is a frozen garage door, so read on for some tips on how to prevent this from happening.

Insulate your garage door

Don’t wait for the winter weather to start protecting your garage door from the cold. Fall is a great time to get prepared. One important step is to ensure that your garage door is properly insulated. Many new garage doors come insulated already, but you may need to add insulation if your garage door is older.

Check the weatherstripping

The weatherstripping also plays a role in insulating and properly sealing your garage to protect it against the elements, so give it a visual check to make sure this is intact and in good condition.

Heat your garage

Then there are measures you should take during the winter when the weather is cold, such as keeping your garage warm inside. Garage heating is most often used if you spend time in your garage, but you may also need to use a heater during cold spells to keep the garage door from freezing.

Shovel driveway snow

If there’s a snowstorm, you might not be motivated to shovel your driveway if you don’t need to take the car out of the garage. But leaving snow to build up outside of your garage door, where it could also melt and refreeze, could lead to a build-up of ice that can block your garage door.

Salt around your garage

If you want to prevent the above step before it happens, sprinkle some salt around your garage door. This will prevent any rainwater or melted snow from freezing. As well as helping to stop your garage door from freezing, this will also make your driveway safer, making you and your family less likely to slip.

Choose the right lubricant

The lubricant you apply to the moving parts of your garage door could freeze in cold weather, causing those parts to freeze up and stop moving. Make sure you use a silicone-based lubricant during winter to prevent this from happening, since these types of lubricants have a lower freezing point.

If you need garage door maintenance or repair in the lead-up to winter, contact Carolina Garage Door for our services around Winston Salem, Greensboro, High Point, and Kernersville, NC.