A malfunctioning garage door can not only be irritating to manage, but it can also be a safety issue. When your garage door isn't working properly, it's best to hire a professional to repair the system instead of attempting to do the repairs yourself. If your garage door opening system is old, you may want to consider taking advantage of having a garage door technician in your home to upgrade the garage door opening system to prevent future problems and to take advantage of modern technology.

Here are a few examples of why your garage door isn't working properly and how retrofitting your garage door opening system can help when repairs are made.

1. Wear and Tear from Vibrations

Vibrations caused by the garage door opening system can put a lot of wear and tear on the entire system, which may be why you need repairs. The vibrations can make the chains and pulleys go off-balance, which results in more vibrations and becomes a downward spiral of worsening conditions and a lot of noise until either something breaks or you just can't take the noise any longer. 

When the technician repairs the broken parts of the garage door opening system, ask them to retrofit the system with a vibration isolating kit. This device is designed to prevent vibrations from damaging the entire pulling system for the garage door to open and close. 

2. Safety Sensors Aren't Working

Safety sensors are optical sensors that are designed to detect movement underneath the garage door. When these sensors detect movement, the garage door opener gets a signal to stop closing the garage door and reverses the direction of the door so it returns to the fully open position. When these sensors no longer work due to misalignment or breakage, it can become a serious safety hazard. In fact, it's a federally required safety standard. 

A garage door repair technician can inspect the safety sensors of your garage door to determine whether or not they are functioning properly and make the necessary repairs if they aren't. Alternatively, they can retrofit your garage door opener with new optical sensors that are more sensitive, which is important if you have small children and/or pets. 

3. Strangers Can Open Your Garage Door

Garage door openers can be hacked into, especially the older ones that use one code to pick up transmitted signals from a garage door remote. Newer openers have rolling codes that are more difficult to hack. The ability to hack into a garage door opener makes this entrance point the most susceptible to a home invasion.

If your garage door can be opened and closed by neighbors or strangers, it's a good idea to replace the garage door opener or retrofit it. A garage door technician will be able to connect your older garage door opener to make it Wi-Fi accessible. 

4. Power Surge Fried the Opener

When your home experiences a power surge, such as during some lightning storms or faulty power supply issues, the electrical components of the opener can fry, which would cause it to be completely or intermittently inoperable. It may open and close the garage on its own or not open at all when you want it to. Or, it may open for you but stop halfway and reverse. 

If your garage door opener needs to be repaired due to damage from a power surge, ask the technician to retrofit your garage door opener with a surge protector. This is particularly important if you experience frequent power surges. Alternatively, disconnect your garage door opener from the electrical circuitry and install a battery-operated unit.