Your garage is an important part of your home. If you’re using it properly, it keeps your car safe from the elements and from prying eyes. Even if your garage is simply filled with junk, it still serves a useful purpose.

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But sometimes things may go wrong with your garage door. Over time, doors may become warped or the lock could fail. Here are just a few helpful hints in case the worse happens.

Locked Out

If your garage lock stops working, it can be a nightmare. How are you supposed to get to work on time if your car’s stuck inside?

Most garage door locks consist of two bars which move into slots in the door track. With age these can move out of alignment – to fix this, unscrew the brackets and realign them. To keep them in good working order, make sure to lubricate the locking mechanism regularly.

Warped

Older doors may become warped and start to sag as the years go by. Often this can be fixed by tightening the tension rods on the back of the doors.

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Power Loss

If your electrical garage door loses power, there’s no need to panic. First, check nothing has become disconnected. According to The Spruce, you should also check that the circuit breaker and fuse are functioning properly.

In the meantime, you should find a manual override – often a cord on the guide track – with which you can open the door under your own steam.

Iced Up

A cold spell could cause your garage door to freeze up and stop working. Leaving it to thaw may work, but if you’re in a hurry, use warm water from the kettle to melt any ice.

Most doors will have special pressure adjustments which should be adjusted every now and then to ensure smooth running, whatever the weather.

Stains

Not a door issue, but a common problem, oil spillages can be cleared up by applying an absorbent material (crumbled drywall is good) to soak up the oil, and then rinsing and brushing.

Call the Professionals

Keeping your Luton automatic garage door, such as those from http://garagedoorsrus.co.uk/, regularly maintained will help prevent issues developing.

But if your door refuses to budge or is constantly sticking and nothing you do seems to alleviate the problem, it could be time to call in the professionals.