There’s nothing like a bout of icy winter weather to make one really appreciate the comfort, convenience, and safety of having a nice dry garage, and it’s especially nice when you have an automatic garage door opener so you don’t have to go out in the elements at all.
Unfortunately, cold weather can lead to problems with your garage door, such as when the bottom edge freezes to the floor. This can occur when sleet or rain runs down the door and then pools and freezes at the bottom edge. And even if there is no rain or snow, cold temperatures may cause condensation to collect on the inside of the door garage, then run down and freeze along the bottom.
In many cases, this problem can be prevented in the first place. If you know that icy weather is in the forecast, you can prepare for it by raising the door to a comfortable level for you to reach, wiping it clean and dry with a rag, and then applying a thin layer of WD 40. An application should last a month, and then it should be refreshed. If you don’t have any WD 40 available, you might apply a very thin layer of petroleum jelly to the bottom edge. It may be messy, but at least your door won’t freeze to the floor.
If you failed to prepare your door and it does freeze to the floor, here’s what to do:
First, though, a warning: Do not try to break the door loose by forcing it with the garage door opener! This is likely to seriously damage or burn out the opener’s mechanisms. If the door is stuck, you’ve simply got to get out of your vehicle and deal with it.
So, start by pulling the emergency release cord and then try to open the door manually. If you do get it open, wipe the edge and apply WD 40 as described above. It is also important to scrape away any ice left on the floor that can touch the door. For security, you don’t want to leave any kind of gap at the bottom of the door. If you can’t scrape the floor clean, you can pour very warm water on it and then promptly sweep or squeegee it away. Then be careful to watch for slick areas left outside the garage..
If you can’t break the door loose manually, you may be able to chip away enough ice with a scraper to loosen it. Or you may be able to melt it with a heat gun, or with a hairdryer, from inside the garage (if you have a door you can get it).
Once you get the door open, treat the bottom edge as described above.
If the door still won’t open when you’ve removed ice along the bottom, then check the door hinges to see if they are iced-over. You may need to thaw them with a hairdryer as well. If ice isn’t what is freezing your door in place, you may have another cold-related problem, so check out Winter Woes, Part Two for suggestions.