Does your garage door squeak and groan? Listen to what it’s saying

(BPT) - Your garage door – just like Oz’s Tin Man – needs regular lubrication in order to move freely.

While the Tin Man could ask Dorothy for the oil can, your garage door can only squeak and groan and hope you’re paying attention. But now, your garage door can send you an email to remind you that it’s time for maintenance.

A new program from the International Door Association (IDA) – a worldwide trade association of door and access systems professionals – invites consumers to register for twice-a-year emails from its consumer website, GarageDoorCare.com. The emails will carry a simple message – it’s time to lubricate your garage door.

Does lubrication sound difficult? It’s not, really – it’s something any homeowner can do in less than five minutes. And twice-a-year lubrication is the first step to keeping a garage door in peak operating condition. That’s important, because the garage door may be the most ignored appliance in a home.

A 2014 survey on garage door maintenance conducted by the Harris Poll found that 27 percent of homeowners surveyed said that their garage door’s hinges and rollers had never been lubricated and 12 percent aren’t sure when they were last lubricated.

“Lubrication is the simplest step a homeowner can take to make sure their garage door remains in good working order,” says Chris Long, managing director of IDA. “All you need to do is spray a small amount of garage door lubricant to the hinges, rollers and springs. A visit to GarageDoorCare.com can provide more details on lubrication and other basic steps homeowners can take to keep their garage door in top condition.”

Long wants homeowners to know that by signing up for the email program, folks aren’t signing up for a flood of marketing emails or sales calls.

“IDA is offering this as a service to homeowners, nothing more,” he says. “If a homeowner needs more extensive garage door repair services or isn’t comfortable performing basic maintenance tasks, they can find nearby garage door professionals by entering their ZIP code on our website’s Find a Qualified Professional page.”

GarageDoorCare.com also provides information that details other tasks that homeowners can perform to ensure that their garage door remains in top operating conditions, such as:

* Visual inspection of the door’s springs, cables, rollers, pulleys and mounting hardware

* Door balance test

* Reverse mechanism test

* Photo eye test

The site includes a list of 10 things every homeowner should know about garage door safety. A special page is devoted to children and garage door safety.

Your garage door may be showing you warning signs that it needs maintenance. Please don’t ignore them.