A good sliding door is one that slides smoothly without jamming or sticking. However, after facing too much back and forth and through seasons and weather changing, a problem with your sliding door is hard to avoid. Thus, you need to know how to make sliding door slide easier.
Maintain Sliding Door to Slide Smoothly
There are two major problems that often-causing sliding doors to jam or sticky which is something wrong with the roller or the tracks. In most sliding doors, there is only one roller that appears as a small wheel atop or at the bottom of the door. While the track is where the wheel roll to make the door slide.
Over time, rust, dirt, and misalignment caused damage to both track and wheel. Thus, it hinders sliding door operation. Turns out that maintaining a sliding door to slide smoothly doesn’t require sophisticated tools. All you need is just a vacuum cleaner, brush or sponges, lubricants, a general cleaning kit, pliers, a screwdriver, and a mountain of spirit. Here is how to make sliding door slide easier:
1. Clean Sliding Door Track
Dust and dirt often hide on the track hole and stay there for a long time. The accumulation of this dirt causes obstruction to the door operation system such as jamming or sticking. Your door become hard to slide. So, all you have to do is clean the track thoroughly using a vacuum cleaner, brush/sponges, and a cleaning kit.
Use a vacuum to suck dirt and debris and then scrub the entire track with sponges that have been sprayed or wetted with a cleaning kit before. Periodically, slide the door to ensure it slides smoothly and to push dirt on the back to the front. Don’t forget to swipe all residual with a damp cloth or sponges.
2. Fix The Tracks
When dirt and debris stay too long, it makes damage to the tracks. If your sliding door seems hard to slide, then you better check on the trail. The good one will be able to pinch the door when you slide it. Otherwise, when it broke, it could possibly throw out the roller and cause misalignment.
So, when this is what happens, use a hammer or pliers to block the wood after visually checking the isolated area. For major bends, you might need to replace the entire track with the new one. Or, get a professional to repair them for you. Adjust the roller as well if they got out of the track using a screwdriver.
3. Apply Lubricants
Rust grows in the roller plus dirt and debris on the track can cause a sliding door to jam. After you clean both of them it’s better to apply or spray lubricant on them. Slide the door back and forth after spraying the lubricant. It is better to use silicon-based lubricant rather than petroleum-based. Silicon-based lubricant won’t leave residual or accumulate debris over time.
So, it’s not that hard how to make sliding door slide easier, isn’t it? The most important thing to do is routinely clean the track and check roller and track conditions. Clean track avoids misalignment and tries not to force open the door when it’s stuck because it can cause more damage.
