THINK GREEN- THINK CLEAN for your sliding glass doors that is!

 

Ever find yourself struggling like the lady in the picture? Think green by seeing if you can salvage your doors, and save yourself a lot of green in the process! Here are a couple of tips you can use to help yourself get a handle on the problem. First you need to determine if you actually have a problem. Here’s a simple test you can perform yourself to see if your door is in need of assistance.

Problem # 1 “Crack Attack”. Open your door just a little bit, so you can see a crack to the outside. Now look very carefully at this crack. Is it even from top to bottom? The one pictured in the example has a larger crack at the top than the bottom. This indicates that either the wheels are broken, or possibly if new, are out of alignment. Different wheels align using various methods, but it is important that they do line up. This is in part because the operating door forms a seal against the non-operating or additional operating panel(s). A door out of alignment will leak in a lot more hot air during the summer, or cold air in the winter.

If the reason it is out of alignment is a broken wheel, then it would be prudent to replace those wheels as soon as possible. Broken wheels can wreak havoc with not only the operation of the door, but also can gouge up and destroy the track that the wheels roll on. Although there are a few solutions available to assist with damaged tracks, it’s always better to fix the problem before it gets to that advanced state. We recommend using higher quality stainless steel rollers which have sealed bearings.

This will add years of life to your door and will NOT need to be greased or lubricated. Stay away from the oil based lubricants like WD-40, which are fine for a lot of things but should never be used on your door. If you must lubricate, use a dry lube like a Teflon spray.
 
Problem # 2 “Pregnant Door Syndrome”. This problem typically occurs along the shoreline where the door gets a lot of sand, salt, water and wind. Over years, and especially in the NON-operating door portions (Surprise! Non-operating or seldom used doors usually have wheels in them too even though you aren’t typically opening them). The wind drives in the salt and other debris into the door, settling in the wheel systems. As this builds up, the salt and debris begin to press along the bottom rail, both inside and outside (as pictured in our example). This is a VERY UNHEALTHY scenario for the door system as eventually this corrosion will not only push apart the bottom rail, but it can actually eat away at the aluminum causing it to burst forth like a bad case of door acne. Once this happens, the door’s life is dramatically impacted. Repairs must be made in a relatively short period of time to keep the corrosion from continuing to eat away at the aluminum. Is it fixable… yes, sometimes. But it’s always better to avoid the problem with proper maintenance before the corrosion sets in.

TIP: Regularly clean out your door tracks to avoid the corrosion building up in the first place. Use a wire brush and give the tracks a good scrubbing, vacuuming out any debris. You might want to use a de-greaser after that and really get those tracks clean and dry. If you are lubricating them, use a dry lube along the tracks and run the wheels over it a few times after you have completed the process. Do this quarterly throughout the year and you should have many years of trouble-free service from your sliding glass doors. Should your issues be more advanced or you prefer not to fix it yourself, feel free to call at 727-641-8106 or visit Lizette  online for a consultation on the problem.