Sliding doors are popular in homes with patios or decks. Their full-length glass panels that usually opens up the room to the outdoors and the easy access to the outdoors have made them very popular. For closets and pantries, interior sliding doors are sometimes used. The panels can be removed easily giving full access to what is behind them. They will sometimes get stuck but to keep them on track the following maintenance procedures are required.

Clean the tracks

The main reason why the rollers get stuck is the accumulation of dirt. Mud, hair and even food could get ground on the track. This clogs up the rollers underneath the door making them get stuck. The sliding door tracks are hard to reach places. The vacuum cleaner cannot reach the dirt stuck in the rollers. To clean the track all you need is an old sock and a screwdriver. Put the screwdriver into the sock and then push the pointy end of the screwdriver into those hard to reach areas. In places where the dirt has caked, you can use some water. To loosen up the dirt you can use a dry toothbrush them use the pointy end of the vacuum.

Lubricate

With sliding doors, you do not have to use force when opening or closing them. If this is the case you might need to spare some time and lubricate the rollers. To do this, you have to get to the rollers and you must remove the door first. The door might be heavy so ask for assistance to avoid breaking the panels. You have to turn the adjustment screws counterclockwise. Then lift the door out of the bottom track. The rollers are on the bottom edge of the door, remove them from their pockets and inspect them. If they are old and damaged they might need to be replaced. If they just dirty remove the dirt using a soft cloth and some denatured alcohol. Spray some silicone spray on the rollers and return them to their pockets.

Even though sliding doors are a great additional feature to a home they have to be maintained and the tracks kept clean. The wheels operate like a train where they hug and glide on the track. Therefore the first thing to do to make sure the sliding door is working efficiently is to clean the dirt before it accumulates. Loose screws can sometimes block the path of the door. You should therefore routinely tighten up the screws. On top of keeping the sliding door track system clean, keep it lubricated. You can come up with a maintenance schedule to keep the door gliding with ease.