Spring Cleaning in your Garage

As the weather begins to turn to sunshine rather than rain, most of us start itching to get outside and get our yards in shape. The first thing we do is notice that all of our yard and garden tools are buried in the garage or shop. Now is the time to dust off the cobwebs and bring those tools back to the front of the garage. But be careful when you do. Don't forget about your safety sensor eyes for your garage door. A misplaced broom can break your photo eye beam, causing your door not to close properly. Now is the time to clear a little bit of room around those photo eyes to prevent that from happening.  It might also be a good idea to take this time to make sure your garage door is functioning properly.

A few quick 'Spring Cleaning' checks for your garage door and operator:

• Check that the photo eye lenses are clear and free of any cobwebs. 
• Make sure your door balances properly.  With the door in the down position, pull the red release cord to unhook your operator from the door. Run the door manually. The harder it is to lift the more strain you are putting on your operator. (Make sure you remember to re-engage your operator or it may not open next time)
• If your door is made of wood, tighten all the hinge nuts and bolts as the expansion of the door over winter can cause them to loosen.
• Lube the moving parts of your door (rollers, bearings and springs) with the proper lubricant. WD-40 has many uses and should be in everyone's garage, lubing a garage door in NOT one its uses. Likewise, a heavy grease is not recommended for the tracks, as it will cause more problems when the weather changes back to the cold temperatures. Specific Garage Door Lubricant is sold by many retailers and professional door dealers.
• Wood doors should be sealed on the outside and inside to prevent moisture damage. The more often you seal it the longer it will last. Yes, the inside does need to be sealed as the moisture from your car in the winter after parking it in the garage can cause as much damage as the rain on the outside.

Taking a few minutes in the spring to make sure everything is functioning properly can save you a lot of headaches down the road as a small garage door balance problem turns into stripped out gears and needed operator repair.

Google Glass to Control your Garage Door?

It appears as if advances in technology will continue to push the way our garage door functions. Liftmaster has recently introduced the MyQ products that allow users to control their garage door operator from their smartphone. With MyQ, users can check whether their Liftmaster operator is open or closed or open it remotely. 

Now Google has applied for another patent for it's much talked about Google Glass. Engadget has uncovered the most recent patent application that could possibly be used to control your garage door operator.

The headwear will apparently using visual identification, RFID, infra-red, Bluetooth and even QR codes as methods for recognizing controllable devices. Once your well-designed head-mounted display picks up a target, it would then pull down information related to the object, including a control interface. These "superimposed controls" would then hover over the real-life objects (which would need to be WiFi-connected or otherwise), with garage doors and refrigerators both referenced as possibilities (we've added sketches for both of these after the break).

Mat Smith | Google applies for another Glass patent, thinks about controlling your garage door and fridge

Patent applications are vague, so we can only speculate on how this technology may be used in the future. Will you be able to pull into your driveway, look at your door while wearing your Google Glasses and then be able to use voice commands to open your Google Glass equipped garage door operator. It's unknown at this time, however, it is apparent that technology will continue to change the way we interact with our surroundings, possibly including our garage door. 

About Metro Overhead Door

Metro Overhead Door opened its doors in 1984 as a two person residential and commercial garage door repair company. Since then, Metro has expanded to four locations and also expanded its range of services to include gate automation, access control, and commercial entry doors. Metro currently has offices in Portland, Aloha, Vancouver, WA and our newest location in Lacey, WA. Metro has always prided itself on fast, responsive, reliable service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.