Automatic Door Maintenance – How, When, and Why

Automatic doors need attention and care just like every other aspect of your business. They are essential to keeping your business open, but they are often overlooked. If your business is not accessible due to a malfunction, that cuts into your bottom line.

Just like any other piece of mechanical equipment, automatic doors require routine maintenance to function correctly. In this post, we’ll give you a guide to the how, when, and why of automatic door maintenance.

Why is Automatic Door Maintenance Important?

Regular automatic door maintenance is crucial for many reasons:

1. Safety: Without automatic door repair, service, and maintenance, a door can malfunction in an instant and become a safety hazard. The best way you can ensure safety is to incorporate a door safety check into your team’s daily routine. This way, your team will catch any issues before they become major problems, and you can call in the professionals when more intensive maintenance is required.
2. Longevity: The better you take care of your automatic doors, the longer they will last. With routine maintenance and daily safety checks, your automatic door could last over 20 years. 
3. Efficiency: Properly maintained doors run better and more smoothly, which can make them more efficient by saving energy and time for those using them. If everything is running efficiently, your customers won’t even notice how well your doors are working because they’ll be more focused on what you’re selling, which is what everyone wants.
4. Cost-efficiency: Preventative maintenance is often less expensive than a major repair. If you can discover problems early and address them, it is likely that you won’t have to pay for as many costly repairs or as many emergency issues later on.
5. Compliance: Regular servicing ensures that your doors are always complying with regulations and safety standards. A reputable company will ensure your doors are up to date with the latest requirements, and you can do your part by scheduling routine maintenance.

How Often Should Automatic Doors Be Professionally Serviced?

The service schedule is influenced by how often your door is used, whether it sustains a lot of high impact, and what kind of environment it is installed within. High-traffic areas like building entrances can require more frequent service, while a lower-traffic area may only require service once or twice a year. Humidity, weather patterns, emergencies, and other factors also have an impact on how often service may be recommended.

As a rule of thumb, your automatic door should be inspected twice a year at minimum. This is especially relevant if you are a newer business and you’re unsure about how much traffic it will sustain. If you want more information, you can also always check the specifications for your specific door model for more detailed maintenance schedule instructions.

Professional Automatic Door Maintenance: What’s Involved?

When an expert commercial door technician services your automatic door, they will work through the following steps to ensure any issues with functionality are understood and resolved quickly:

1. Inspection: The technician will conduct a thorough inspection of the door’s mechanisms, like the sensors, motors, and tracks. 
2. Cleaning: Maintenance service often includes cleaning to remove dirt and grime from moving parts of the automatic door, as well as looking for broken or scratched door glass and anything impeding the ability of the door to function.
3. Lubrication: The technician will apply lubricant to moving parts that need it. Sometimes lubrication is all the door needs to restore proper movement and functionality, and this is often the case with automatic sliding doors.
4. Adjustment: If necessary, the tech will calibrate sensors, door speed, and other parameters. If your door has electronic features, the technician will make sure these are working the way they should be. Sometimes, there is an issue with the door frame itself, but most common are issues with the door mechanisms.
5. Safety checks: Safety features, like obstruction sensors and emergency functions, are checked to ensure they are working correctly. 
6. Testing: The technician will test the door in various ways to spot any problems and confirm smooth operation. This is sort of the “final exam” for the door, and any remaining complications with the door working perfectly will be sorted out during this testing phase. 
7. Documentation: The technician will put together a comprehensive, detailed, and clear report that details any issues found as well as the work that was done on the door.

How to Maintain Automatic Doors Between Services

Professional and routine automatic door maintenance is essential, but there are some things you can do between services to help keep your doors in good condition.

A few quick checks every day, week, and month can help ensure your doors operate safely and efficiently. The American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers (AAADM) recommends that you perform these during light pedestrian traffic while the door system is powered on. 

• Verify the entrance, floor, and door tracks are free of trash, spills, and other hazards.
• Wipe down the door sensors and tracks if they are visibly dirty.
• Make sure nothing is interfering with the sensors or door movement.
• Inspect the door panels for cracks, breaks, or damage.
• Look for exposed, frayed. or damaged wiring.
• Ensure the doors open and close as expected.

If you uncover any issues, call an authorized technician to inspect your automatic doors. Keep in mind that these safety checks are not a substitute for professional inspection.

Automatic Door Maintenance Best Practices

Just like keeping any commercial glass doors clean and functional, keeping automatic door tracks clear is also essential for smooth operations. Make sure the tracks are free of any dust or obstructions to ensure your door stays working properly. If you can do a good job maintaining your door between our services, that helps maintenance appointments run more efficiently, and it eliminates the need for repairs that could have been avoided if daily checks had been performed. Automatic entrance doors are particularly important as these are the gateway to your business, so take special care and pay extra attention to these.

The bottom line is, maintenance and regular professional servicing are important parts of keeping your automatic doors in tip-top shape. Getting your doors serviced at least twice a year and keeping up with routine maintenance can increase the lifespan of this essential security equipment.

Commercial Doors Has Your Automatic Door Solution

If you need automatic door installation, or if you need your automatic doors serviced or inspected, call us at Commercial Door! We are an AAADM-certified door company. We service commercial doors all over the OKC metro area as well as Dallas-Fort Worth and the Western Arkansas area. We promise you the highest quality work in the area and an efficient automatic door solution. We stand by our quality installations and our expert team. Schedule with us today to get your free estimate! 

Automatic Door Maintenance: FAQ

How much does professional automatic door maintenance cost?

Maintenance costs for automatic doors can vary greatly depending on the type of door, location, and services needed. Typically, establishing a routine maintenance schedule and allowing expert technicians to take a look on a regular basis eliminates the need for you to cover more expensive repairs that could have been avoided with a little more foresight.

What do I do if I need emergency service or repair?

For immediate concerns, call Commercial Door to utilize our 24/7 repair service for our valued customers. Do not attempt to fix a major repair yourself because this can be a dangerous task. We can help you as quickly as possible.

What causes automatic doors to malfunction?

There are many things that can damage your automatic door. Some of the most common causes of malfunction are worn-out components, misaligned sensors, electrical issues, severe buildup on the tracks, and human tampering. Regular maintenance ensures that we will work together to prevent issues like this before they render your door inoperable.