Genie Garage Door Openers: Summer Maintenance and Cleaning Tips

Introduction

Ah, the sounds of summer: your perfectly seasoned, Black Angus burgers sizzling on the grill, the kids giggling as they run through sprinklers in the backyard, a lawnmower conquering the jungle your neighbor calls a lawn, and the birds chirping near the bird feeder you put up last weekend. All is well. You flip a few burgers and sit down into the lawn chair that is carefully positioned under the sunshade at the far corner of your deck. After a swig of your ice-cold glass of sweet tea, your hand is wet from the condensation on the outside, but it feels good in the early summer heat.

 

Just as you are allowing yourself to doze off into the melodic slumber of an afternoon nap, “Screeeeeeeeeeech…pop, pop…boom”. Oh, right…your spouse is home and that horrific sound that resembles two robots dismantling one another is actually just your garage door opener as it struggles to pull your garage door beyond halfway open.

 

Many homeowners think that once installed, the garage door opener is set for life, never to be worried about again, however, some basic routine maintenance can help improve the function and useful life of your opener…and get you back to that nap in the shade.

 

Regular Maintenance: Save Money, Improve Performance

Early summer is the perfect time to perform some basic maintenance on your Genie garage door opener. You are probably already starting to de-winterize your lawnmower, startup the air conditioner, and change the filters in your ductwork. Your garage door opener is a major part of your home’s HVAC system since attached garages can be an area of significant cooling loss during the summer. Keeping your garage door closed can reduce this loss and lower your overall cooling bills during the summer months.

 

Performing some basic maintenance on your Genie garage door opener is a perfect early summer project to tackle. Most of what you will need to look for can be broken up into four categories: drive track lubrication, door hardware checks, electronics, and accessories.

 

Drive Track Lubrication

 

Genie Screw Drive Garage Door Openers:

Your Genie screw drive garage door opener, or Genie MachForce garage door opener, is a precise, quiet piece of equipment. If you are hearing grinding or screeching during operation, you may need to clean, adjust, and lubricate the screw and carriage assembly. Wipe off old excess lubricant from the Drive Screw and lubricate the Drive Screw with new Genie Lubricant. If this noise has persisted for more than a few days it may be necessary to replace the screw drive carriage. If so this is a simple item to replace, see this blog post with a DIY walkthrough of replacing the Genie screw drive carriage.

 

Genie Ultra-Quiet Belt or Durable Chain Drive Garage Door Openers:

If the chain or belt is excessively loose on your Genie garage door opener, follow the chain/belt tensioning procedure from the Owner’s Manual for your garage door opener model. You can also use the Genie Universal Lubricant to spray the links of your chain to ensure full, continuous operation.

 

For details on adjusting the tension of your chain or belt drive, check the owner’s manual for your model or visit this link.

 

Door Hardware/Balance Checks

Inspect the garage door rollers and hinges and lubricate as needed using a light-weight general purpose grease, such as the Genie Universal Garage Door Spray Lubricant. This will allow your Genie garage door opener to not have to work as hard against the friction of dry rollers and will extend the life of your Genie.

 

Check the balance of your garage door by disengaging the emergency release lever in the fully closed position, raise and lower the garage door manually—it should move freely and smoothly. Raise the garage door manually 3’ to 4’ and let go. The door should move very slowly or stay stationary. If the door closes quickly or opens, it is out of balance and needs adjusted. Contact a professional dealer for door balance adjustments.

 

Electronics

There are two major electronic safety functions built into your Genie garage door opener, that should be periodically tested, in particular during the summer months: the Contact Reverse function and a Safe-T-Beam garage door safety sensors system check.

 

Contact Reverse Test

Place a piece of wood or similar hard item, on the garage floor where the garage door makes contact and attempt to close the garage door. The door should contact the item and reverse directions within 2 seconds. If the garage door opener fails this test, the Contact Reverse feature needs to be adjusted. See your owner’s manual or contact a professional dealer to correct.

 

Safe-T-Beam® Garage Door Safety Sensor System Check

Check that both the RED and GREEN LEDs are ON steady, which indicates the system is working properly. If the system appears to be working, perform a check by starting to close the door and then passing an object through the beam. The garage door should stop and reverse back to the fully open position. If this does not occur or if the red LED is blinking, your Safe-T-Beam Garage Door Safety Sensor System requires realignment or maintenance.

 

Accessories

 

Battery Backup System

Now is the time to make sure your Genie battery backup system works before the summer severe weather kicks off. Unplug your garage door opener from the outlet. Test the garage door opener by using a remote or the wall console in the garage. Additionally, the Genie battery backup units have colored LED lights to let you know if the battery is not recharging. These lights can appear on the battery or on the powerhead depending on the model. Keep in mind that when properly functioning, a Genie garage door opener running on battery backup power will reduce the speed of door travel and the lights will not turn on. These functions are to preserve as much electricity as possible to operate your garage door up to 50 times.

 

Light Bulb Replacement

Replace any light bulbs that are burnt out with the Genie LED garage door opener bulbs. These Genie LED bulbs are an upgrade from older CFL or incandescent style bulbs to LED light bulbs that are made for the garage. They last up to 10,000 hours and are rated for extreme heat and cold. Check the other lighting in your garage too, these LED bulbs will work in any standard light socket.

 

Genie Garage Door Opener Remote Battery Replacement

Replace the battery in the garage door opener remote on an as-needed basis or at least every 2–3 years. If you notice a decrease in the range of the remote or if the remote has an indicator light that does not illuminate, it is time to replace the batteries.

 

Genie Garage Door Opener Keypad Battery Replacement

Replace the batteries in your exterior garage door opener keypad. The keypad being outside, the batteries will drain faster due to temperature fluctuations. Also, like most homeowners, the keypad is not used that often so if it has been a while since you have tested it. Odds are it is time to replace the batteries.

 

 

 A Genie Smart garage door opener powered by Aladdin Connect makes it easy to monitor the position of your garage door and the history of who opened the door with Aladdin Virtual Keys. Genie makes it easy to upgrade your current garage door opener or install a brand-new Genie garage door opener!