Contrary to popular belief, your garage door springs aren't designed to last forever. In most cases, you can expect to get around 7 years of use out of your garage door springs. Beyond that point, it's only a matter of time before they suddenly snap. This could put your garage door out of commission until the proper repairs are made. To prevent catastrophic failures from happening, it's important to watch out for the following signs of garage door spring failure.

Excess Noise

Excess noise is one common sign of a garage door spring that is on the road to failure. This often comes in the form of constant popping, chattering and creaking sounds as the garage door springs expand and contract under operation. Metal fatigue and contact between individual coils on the springs are often the cause of excess spring noises. These noises can also occur if there's rust and corrosion on the spring surface.

Lubricating the springs at this point can stop the chatter temporarily, but it will come back eventually. Instead, the best way to deal with noisy garage door springs is to have them replaced as soon as possible.

Visible Rust and Corrosion

Another common warning sign of impending garage door spring failure is a buildup of rust and corrosion on the spring's surface. A combination of high moisture and poor maintenance can result in rust. If left untreated, the rust slowly eats away the metal, removing its structural integrity and making it more prone to sudden failure.

If you see rust and corrosion on your garage door springs, you should have them replaced as soon as possible. To prevent rust formation, you should always lubricate the garage door springs with a thorough coating of white lithium grease, silicone lubricant or lightweight motor oil. Avoid using water-displacing lubricants, since these lubricants do not offer adequate performance under constant operation.

Poor Lifting Performance

With the average garage door weighing in at 280 pounds, your garage door springs must be able to support this weight as it opens and closes. As time passes, however, ordinary wear and tear can cause the springs to lose their structural integrity. Not only does this make the springs less capable of supporting the door's weight, but the springs could also snap suddenly and cause the door to fail.

Sagging garage doors are a tell-tale sign of weak garage door springs. To verify this, manually open the door by a couple of feet and then let it go. If the garage door begins to sag no sooner than you let it go, then the springs will need replacement as soon as possible.

For more information, contact AAA Garage Door, Inc. or a similar company.