There’s this mouse… we won’t call him Mickey because of what’s about to happen. Let’s call it Morey. Why not? Anyway, Morey is scampering around, enjoying life like any other day, dodging snakes and cats from time to time. He goes into his favorite house because there’s got to be some crumbs… morsels… anything… He’s one hungry dude, and getting hungrier.
So Morey comes upon something… this wooden square thing with a bright shiny metal coil.. And about halfway in there’s this metal thing… and on top of the metal thing is … OMG… a piece of cheese! He’s no dummy… he’s cautious… he moves toward it… backs away… inches closer to the cheese… backs away again… He can smell the cheese… the smell draws Morey closer and closer… He’s tempted… oh, so tempted… he reaches out and grabs the cheese…
THWAP! The coil springs into action… a bar snaps him in half. Game over for Morey.
So why did we spend so much time talking about a mouse and mousetrap? It’s because of the spring and the tension created by what’s called a Torsion Spring. When that spring unwound, the force of the spring was so great that Morey went to mouse heaven almost instantaneously.
Now go into your garage. Look over your closed door. There’s your torsion spring system… two thick springs that are really responsible for
the lifting and lowering of your garage door. Your opener may initiate the process, but then the springs take over and they’re the dudes who really help you lift the door.
Without fully functioning springs, your garage door is dead in the water. You won’t be able lift it and if you try, you’ll be headed to the chiropractor.
So like Morey’s temptation with cheese, you may be tempted to fix your garage door springs on the cheap and dirty. Resist the urge, because if you think a small mousetrap can take a mouse out, imagine thick springs and a part of the spring flies out at you. We’re not trying to scare you. That’s the reality of the situation.
You can lubricate the springs… that will make them last longer, but if they start acting up and making loud noises, contact a trusted, certified garage door technician to take care of the problem… and be careful with the cheese.