Homeowners take stock of their home exteriors every spring and renew efforts on important maintenance around the house. When it comes to inspection of doors and windows, the experts at Barr Commercial Door recommend homeowners to pay special attention to exterior doors and assess them regularly to ensure their long lasting beauty and service.
Following is a checklist of all the dos and don’ts for proper exterior door maintenance that can be made use of whenever the cleaning bug strikes;
The Dos
You will be making a big difference for the maintenance of your door if even a few of the following are followed;
- Using a mild soap and water solution, properly clean the door’s exterior and interior.
- Inspect weather-strip and door bottom sweep and replace if found to be worn too much. Look for wear on the door’s corner sill pads and replace if needed.
- The door sealants should be checked and maintained as needed
- Depending on the amount of outdoor exposure that your door has received, re-apply paint (for a painted door), or topcoat for a stained one as needed after inspecting the finish of door and frame both
- The security feature of a door’s hardware should also be checked. Tighten all screws as needed
- Door hinges should be lubricated as needed
Equally as important to door maintenance that homeowners need to follow, are things that shouldn’t be done as told by the door repair company. These are;
- Never leave the door unfinished
- Never use paint on a stained wood-grain (a compatible primer should be first used)
- Lacquer based paints mustn’t be used on doors
- Never use harsh chemicals to clean a door
- Don’t use caulk to fill gaps in the worn weatherstrip
- A pressure washer mustn’t be used to clean door exteriors
- Sill caps mustn’t be adjusted too tightly as this will cause the door’s bottom sweep to bind
- Never change out the glass insert in a door without taking help from an adjustable torque
- Holes or screws shouldn’t be drilled on the door, even just for hanging holiday decorations
As you can see there are a lot of dos and don’ts of door maintenance that have to be remembered if you are a homeowner attempting this for the first time. This is exactly why a good door repair company such as Barr Commercial Door should be considered for the repair of any door!
