No one would deny that your garage door needs to be properly supported. If your garage door is not supported, then there is a chance that it might come crashing down on your car or a person in your family and cause severe damage. In order to keep this from happening, you need to make sure that your garage door springs have not worn down over time. There are two main tests that you can use for torsion garage door springs.

Test One: Make Sure that the Garage Door Stays Open

In order to perform this test, you need to either open the garage door manually or use a garage door opener. Start with the garage door in the closed position. Then, either manually or using a garage door opener, move the garage door to an open position. When you let go of the garage door or stop pushing the garage door opener's up button, observe the door. There should be no more than an inch or two of motion when you release your own support. If the garage door should sag suddenly or if it should slowly drift downwards more than an inch or two in a minute, then your springs need to be re-tensioned because they are no longer strong enough to hold open the door. 

Test Two: Make Sure the Garage Door Stays Where You Leave It

Start with your garage door in either a fully open position or a fully closed position. Then, lift the garage door up so that it is about even with your chest. When it is opened partway like this, only the springs are supporting the garage door. As a result, opening it partway is an excellent way to test the strength of the springs. If the garage door should start to close on its own and not stay at the position where you left it, then your springs either need to be replaced or re-torsioned.

What To Do About It:

If you at all suspect that your garage door springs need to be replaced, you need to call a professional like Overhead Door Of Akron as soon as possible. Do not attempt to fix your garage door springs on your own, because both the springs and the door itself are heavy. If the door falls on you or another person in your family, it will cause serious injury. If you attempt to unfurl the springs, they could snap back with a force that is great enough to hurt you. In order to avoid this, call a professional.

Check the age of your springs and their manufacturer. Call the manufacturer and find out the average lifespan of the torsion springs that you currently possess. This will give you a timeline for spring replacement.