2026-03-28 7 min read
March in Malden is a strange month. One morning you're scraping ice off the windshield, and a week later it's 55°F and the forsythias are trying to bloom. That freeze-thaw cycle. temperatures swinging from the low 20s in January up through the 40s and 50s by late March. is exactly the kind of weather that quietly wears down a garage door system. By the time spring actually settles in, most doors around here have absorbed a full season of metal contraction, lubricant thickening, and ice forming at the bottom seal.
If your door made it through winter without an emergency call, good. But that doesn't mean it came through unscathed. Here's what to check now, before the warmer months disguise problems that will come back to bite you in the fall.
This is the part of your door that took the most abuse. All winter long, snowmelt and slush collected at the base of the door, then refroze overnight. That repeated freeze-thaw cycle is hard on rubber. Run your hand along the bottom seal and look for sections that have gone brittle, cracked, or compressed flat. A damaged seal doesn't just let in cold air. it lets in water, insects, and road salt tracked in from your driveway.
For homeowners in neighborhoods like Maplewood or the West End, where a lot of the housing stock dates back to the early-to-mid 20th century, garages often sit low to the ground with minimal slope away from the door. Water pools more easily, which means the bottom seal takes even more punishment than in newer construction.
If the seal looks beat up, replacing it is a simple and inexpensive fix. It's worth doing before summer humidity arrives and makes the problem worse.
This is the step most homeowners skip, and it's one of the most important. Standard lubricants and heavy grease can thicken in freezing temperatures, essentially acting like glue on your rollers, hinges, and bearings through the winter months. Now that the air is warming up, that old hardened lubricant needs to come off before you apply anything new.
Wipe down the rollers, hinges, and torsion spring with a clean rag. Then apply a silicone-based or lithium-based lubricant. not WD-40, which is a solvent, not a true lubricant. Coat the rollers, hinges, and the spring itself. Do not spray lubricant inside the tracks; the tracks should be clean and dry. This one step alone can eliminate squeaking, reduce motor strain, and extend the life of your hardware significantly.
If you're not sure what product to use, check our frequently asked questions. we cover lubricant types and application there.
Spring inspections make a lot of people nervous, and for good reason. these components are under serious tension. But you don't need to touch them to do a basic visual check. Stand in your garage and look at the torsion spring mounted horizontally above the door opening.
Here's what to look for:
- Visible gaps in the coils. a gap of two inches or more means the spring has snapped - Rust or discoloration. surface rust weakens the metal and makes the spring more brittle - Stretched or elongated coils. a spring that looks "loose" has lost the tension it needs
Garage door springs are typically rated for about 10,000 cycles. one cycle being a full open and close. If you use your door four times a day, that's roughly seven years of life under normal conditions. If you've been in your Malden home for seven or more years and have never had the springs looked at, now is the time. A worn spring doesn't always fail dramatically; sometimes it just slowly loses tension, and you notice the door feels heavier or moves unevenly. Don't ignore that.
Spring replacement is not a DIY job. The stored tension in these components can cause serious injury if released improperly. This is one of those situations where calling a professional is the only safe option.
Here's a quick test any homeowner can do safely. Disconnect the opener by pulling the red emergency release cord. Lift the door manually to about waist height, then let go. It should stay in place. If it drifts up or falls down, the spring tension is off and the door is out of balance. An unbalanced door puts unnecessary strain on your opener motor every single time it runs.
Look at the metal tracks on both sides of the door. Cold temperatures cause metal to contract slightly, and that contraction. combined with vibration from the opener. can loosen the bolts that hold the track brackets to the wall. Tighten any loose bolts with a socket wrench. Also check for visible bends or gaps in the track itself. A bent track is a repair job; don't try to hammer it straight yourself.
While you're at it, look at the cables running along the sides of the door. They should be taut and free of fraying. Loose or frayed cables are a sign that the spring system isn't working correctly and that a failure may be coming.
The photo-eye sensors near the floor of your garage opening got a full winter of snow splash, salt spray, and condensation. A dirty sensor lens can cause the door to reverse unexpectedly or refuse to close. Wipe each lens with a soft, dry cloth and check that the indicator light on each sensor is solid (not blinking). Make sure nothing is blocking the beam between the two sensors.
For residents across the river in Everett or over in Somerville who deal with similar road salt conditions, this sensor cleaning step is just as important. salt residue is surprisingly corrosive on sensor housings over time.
There's a clear line between homeowner maintenance and professional repair. Lubrication, visual inspections, sensor cleaning, and bolt tightening are all reasonable DIY tasks. Anything involving springs, cables, or track realignment should be handled by a technician.
If your spring inspection check turns up red flags, or if the balance test shows the door isn't staying put, reach out to schedule a visit before the problem gets worse. Catching a spring issue in spring is a lot better than dealing with a broken spring in January.
You can also browse our full list of garage door services to see what a professional tune-up includes. it covers more ground than most homeowners expect.
Q: How often should I lubricate my garage door? A: Twice a year is a good baseline. once in the fall before cold weather sets in, and once in the spring after the freeze-thaw season. If your door is particularly noisy or stiff, don't wait; lubricate it as needed.
Q: Can I use WD-40 on my garage door springs and rollers? A: No. WD-40 is a water-displacement solvent, not a long-term lubricant. It can actually attract dirt and dry out over time. Use a silicone-based or lithium-based lubricant specifically designed for garage door hardware.
Q: My door passed the balance test, but it still sounds loud. What's going on? A: Noise without imbalance is usually a lubrication issue or worn rollers. Steel rollers are noisier than nylon rollers, and if yours are original to the house. common in older Malden homes. an upgrade to nylon rollers can make a noticeable difference in noise level.