Winters in Newark and Columbus bring all kinds of challenges to homeowners, a frozen garage door. A frozen garage door can be an unexpected and distressing start to your day. Let’s look at a few ways to solve the immediate problem of getting the door open.
First Step to Freeing Your Frozen Garage Door
First, don’t try to operate the opener if it resists the first time. Rather, focus on the bottom weather seal strip which is frozen to the ground. Go outside to the front of your garage door and shovel/sweep accumulated snow. If ice is visible in front of the seal, try to chip away as much as possible, without damaging the seal. Now, moving back inside the garage, there are a few ways to free your door, depending on how much time you have.
The fastest way is using hot water, with caution, and quickly so the water doesn’t freeze. Pour the hot water along the door seal and, using an ice scraper, remove the ice that has started to melt and try to open the door.
If you have a little more time, the use of dry heat will do the job. For example, use a space heater, electric blanket or even a hair dryer along the bottom seal. Do not set any of those items on the highest setting.
One more way to remove the ice is the use of an old spray bottle with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water. Mix 2/3 cup of rubbing alcohol with 1/3 cup of water and spray along the bottom seal. That combination is known to melt the ice.
Final Step After Freeing Your Frozen Garage Door
Whichever way you choose to free your garage door, take time to remove any remaining ice or water on the ground directly below the weather seal. Thoroughly dry the weather seal strip and apply a silicone-based lubricant to the seal. At that time, you can also spray the tracks of the garage door unit which will help the door move smoother. It’s a good idea in the winter to open and close your garage door daily to prevent ice from forming.
All Pro Overhead Doors, LLC, is open 24/7/365, and ready to help you with all your garage door needs. We serve Columbus and surrounding areas by calling (614)444-DOOR and Newark and Zanesville by calling (740)444-DOOR. We look forward to hearing from you.