Getting your patio door to slide better.
Patio door difficult to slide.
A homeowner s first thought may be to fix it themselves and depending on the problem it may be possible.
In order of likelihood your sticky problem can exist due to the following reasons.
Aluminum is low maintenance but it is a soft metal and over time the track gets a rut in it from being worn down.
There is another possible reason that the door is hard to open.
Over time it s very likely that your sliding door has gotten dirty and the tracks become clogged and blocked.
Luckily this is a very easy fix.
Chances are your patio door undergoes a lot of traffic.
First all you need to do is simply give the sliding door track a good scrubbing.
The track may be worn.
According to this old house debris build up is the main reason for a sliding door that refuses to glide.
Standard sliding glass doors all have tracks.
Patio doors slide horizontally or at least they re supposed to.
Over time the sliding glass door track accumulates dirt and grime.
Clean the sliding glass door track.
Troubleshooting a sticky sliding patio door clean the track.
All it takes is a screwdriver.
When the tracks aren t clean it can cause your sliding door to stick.
Once the patio door track is nice and clean lubricate the track with a silicone based lubricant spraying.
This slows down your door considerably.
Here s how you can clean the rollers and the track.
Dirt mud hair and fur can collect along the track and in the groove which clogs the rollers underneath and prevents smooth motion.
Debris or dried liquid blocking the tracks.
Dirty tracks are one of the most common causes for a sliding door sticking.
Sliding door tracks are magnets for dirt dust pet hair bugs grass food crumbs you name it.
Failure at any one of these locations can cause it to stick or prevent it from opening at all.
The track acts as a guide for the door and also allows roller wheels to help the door run smoothly.
All too often these big pesky contraptions stubbornly resist opening and getting outside becomes about as easy as dragging a refrigerator through a sandbox.
Many patio door sills have an aluminum track that the rollers glide on.
Door problems can often be resolved by adjusting the wheel height as mentioned above.
Remove the door from the track.
The most common cause of a sticking patio door is debris in the lower track.