Your garage doors probably get a lot of use. Unlike your front door, which is an extraordinarily simple machine made of hinges and steel (or wood), the door guarding your carport is a bit more complex. This is doubly true if it operates on electricity. With more moving parts and greater use, the greater the chances are that something will go wrong.

Of course, we never like to think about that. It works when it works and when it doesn’t…well, then we’ll have something to worry about, right? Except that isn’t a great situation if it forces you to leave your belongings exposed to the neighborhood for a week while you wait for repairs. Here are some simple things you can do to make maintenance a breeze.

Oil is your friend when it comes to maintaining garage doors. Make sure you take some special lubricant and go over all the moving parts at least once a year to ensure everything is staying well lubricated and nothing is going to start drying out and grinding.

You might find it productive to clean the old grease out before you apply a new coat. Just like an oil change in your car, any simple or complex machine can benefit from removal of the old oil before you put the new oil in. Do this on a regular basis and you will avoid many of the problems that could creep up in the future.

Garage doors tend to wear out on the bottom before they wear out in other areas. So make that one of your priorities when it comes to maintenance. Check it every so often and see what the wear looks like. If you need to add another coat of paint to the bottom of the door, do so before the flaking really begins to spread. If you need to replace the seal, do that as well. These are extremely inexpensive fixes that, if done in time, can save you a lot of trouble and money in the years to come. Not to mention that staying on top of this type of maintenance will simply help your house look better.

Of course, no matter how much maintenance you do, problems could still strike out of nowhere. If this happens, look for a company near you that does repair and replacement work on garage doors. If it’s a matter of not being able to close it at all and you aren’t comfortable leaving it open for even a short time, some companies even offer emergency services you can take advantage of in a pinch.