Is Your Garage Door Slow? Here Are Ways to Improve Opening Speed

A garage door that takes longer than usual to open is bothersome. A well-oiled machine, a garage door consists of springs, rollers, and a powerful opener to quickly move the heavy door. Slow operation can be the result of wear and tear or something becoming misaligned, which in this scenario can make the door crawl. Generally, a little inspecting is able to reveal the offender. Among the more common offenders include old/worn parts, lack of lubrication, misaligned hardware, and perhaps even settings on the opener or power issues. By systematically checking these operations, most homeowners can speed up their door and avoid a bigger problem later on.

Common Causes of Slow Garage Doors:

Lubrication and Maintenance. Oil and grease dry up overtime. Rollers, hinges, and springs that run dry creates unnecessary friction, making the opener work much harder and the door moves slowly. Again, if you've maintained all the moving parts and lubricated them on a regular basis, these wear out slowly. So if the wear is slow, you still have a door that lifts with the tension, but the roller feels slow.

Springs and hardware that are worn-out. Garage doors are heavy! Torsion springs do a lot of lifting along with cables, and springs that are worn out or weakened have lost their tension, so the motor struggles, and the door will crawl. Worn-rollers or pulleys (metal or plastic rollers that have extreme wear with flattened edges), as well as excessive wear, can rough out the movement and slow you down. A door that is noticeably harder to lift by hand, than when it was new, is often a indicator that springs or cables are on there last lift too.

Misalignment in tracks, rollers, or damage to rollers. Tracks must be straight and aligned for rollers to glide as they should.Bent tracks or dents (even small ones) can create roller sticking or grinding that slows the door. Debris in the track - leaves, dirt, or rust - can also create roller movement friction that slows the door. If the door seems to jerk or "catch" mid-movement, check for track or roller alignment or damage.

Opener Motor and Settings. A motor on an opener can wear out over time. An older opener, or an opener that has not been serviced recently, may be simply weaker than it originally was. Many openers also have adjustment dials or settings for speed and force levels. If these have been inadvertently set too low (for safety reasons), the door will rise slowly. Sometimes a small adjustment on the opener's "speed" or "force" control can yield a surprisingly large difference.

Power and Sensors. The opener might also not be receiving full power. If the opener is plugged into a power strip or extension cord, or if the circuit is overloaded, the opener motor might not receive full power. Additionally, although a dirty or misaligned safety sensor (the small light sensors at the bottom of the tracks) will not directly slow the door down, if for any reason the door stops or reverses automatically because of a bad sensor the door can behave as if it is slow. Make sure the opener is plugged into a dedicated outlet, and that the safety sensors are clean and squarely facing each other.

Cold weather (seasonal effects).

Depending on the source of lubricants used in the garage door components, garage doors can often slow down temporarily in very colder temperatures. Metal parts will contract, and some lubricants may harden.If that door is moving slowly only during the winter months, this could be a culprit. Heating the garage or using a winter-rated lubricant could help keep things moving until the weather warms up.

Quick Fixes and Maintenance Tips

Fortunately, many slow downs of garage doors can be resolved with some DIY maintenance and adjustments. Here are some very actionable things to try before you call in a tradesperson:

• Lubricate Moving Parts.

Apply a silicone-based (or garage-door-specific) lubricant on the springs, rollers, hinges, tracks, and any bearings. A little lubrication once every six to twelve months keeps your door working freely. Only use WD-40 and heavy grease sparingly, as those can attract dust. Proper lubrication will also give you less friction and noise, and is one of the easiest ways to bring your door back to speed.

• Test Your Door Balance.

Disconnect the opener (pull the red emergency release) and then lift the door with your hand until it is about halfway open. If it either does not stay in place and instead flies back down or flies up to the ceiling, then you have an issue with the tension on the spring. Door springs that are either too loose or too tight can be a reason your door is moving slowly. Please avoid the risk of adjusting torsion springs on your own; if the balance test fails, call a technician. The technician will set the spring tension back to the location where your door can stay open independently.

• Clean and Align Tracks.

Identify the vertical tracks on each side.Clean tracks from debris or rust. Check plumb and parallel with a level. If there are any bends or dents, tap it back into place or replace it if it is damaged. Tighten up any loose bolts on the track brackets. A little obstruction or misalignment could dramatically slow your door speed.

• Check and Tighten Hardware.

Vibration can cause nuts and screws on the hinges or brackets to loosen. Check all bolts on the door and motor mount and tighten them. Sometimes a few small turns will remove the wobble. Loose hardware can also cause the door to bind or rattle which indirectly slows it down.

• Adjust opener settings.

On the opener unit (generally mounted on the ceiling) look for adjustment dials or knobs labeled "up/down" or "force", "speed". Look in your owner's manual to raise the speed or force slightly (you could call it a "tweak"). This tells the opener to apply a little more muscle and will help it move faster.

Caution: too high a setting could allow the door to slam in an unsafe manner. Go slow and if you hear anything strain, stop.

• Make sure you are plugged in properly.

Only plug the opener unit into a wall. Don't use an extension cord. If the opener has a reset button, try unplugging the opener for 30 seconds, then re-plug to clear any problems it mayAlso check the photo-eye sensors to ensure that they are clean and properly aligned; a misaligned sensor will usually not slow the door speed, but ensuring a clear path means you are not stopping your door for no reason. If you go through these checks and the door still opens unusually slow, it may be time to call a professional.

An experienced technician can look at the gearbox and motor gears, etc separately. They can change any worn parts and replace specific worn parts (springs, rollers, cables). With their experience they can also adjust fine tuning to keep the door working smoothly. Because springs and cables are under tension and are potentially safety devices, etc, even a small mistake in adjustment can be quite dangerous.

Keeping the Door Quick and Smooth

The best way to ensure your door does not open slowly is by doing regular maintenance. That means lubricating moving parts, cleaning the tracks, and doing a simple balance test at least once or twice per year. A repair early on may need you to squirt some lubricant or maybe turn a couple of screws. Ignoring an early sign for a slow opening door may be an indicator of a worn out spring or failing part that will eventually develop into a broken part (or in some cases a door that is completely unable to open).

For your safety and piece of mind, consider arranging for a yearly tune up by a garage door professional. In most cases they will test/manage the spring tension (if applicable), lubricate everything (take their time here), check and adjust opener settings if necessary, and replace any parts that may be close to needing replacing or may need immediate attention. Overall, this level of preventive maintenance will save you time and money, in that it will help to maintain the function of the opener and relay, keep your garage door opening fast, and working smoothly.

So, to summarize: a slow opening garage door is most likely not going to be a computer related issue but more likely some mechanical issue. Most homeowners can determine some issues by understanding the most common slow door symptoms (dry hardware - static, worn springs - need for replacement, misalignment - slight shift with each opening cycle, or calibration - needing the opener adjusted for lack of distance).

Performing some basic preventative maintenance on these issues lead to improved speed. And for moral support, consider when you have any doubts you get a professional check-up! A technician will confirm all of those heavy lifting parts are good to go, and you can save time each morning and prolong the life of your door opener and various hardware.