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Naturally! Halton Hills... 4 Home and Energy, Wednesday, October 15, 2008 Fall is the ideal time to do an inspection of your house to be sure that it will be ready to meet the rigours of winter. The maintenance of your garage door is a main part. According to Nancy Labbdirector of communication at Garaga Inc., this task requires a minimal investment of money and time and it will spare you a lot of worries. The door To clean your door, use a gentle soap and rinse thorough- ly. For those tough stains, use an all-purpose detergent. Do not use abrasive cleaners or other strong liquids. To stop the bad effects of acid rain and the ultraviolet rays of the sun, once a year, apply a liquid wax to protect its lustre and give back its brightness. The weather-stripping We suggest cleaning your weather-stripping with an all- purpose detergent and then, thoroughly rinse. Lubricate the weather-stripping every two months (more often depending on usage) with a weatherstrip lubricant. Do not use lubricant with a petroleum base; the petroleum attacks rubber, which must remain flexible. The tracks, rollers and springs To keep your door running, it's important to check all the moving parts. The Garaga hard- ware is made of galvanized steel , so i t doesn' t rust . However, it needs a minimum of maintenance to offer better performance. The track doesn't need to be lubricated. We suggest lubricat- ing the rollers (the inside) and the hinges with a metal lubri- cant. To prolong your spring's use- ful life, apply metal lubricant and wipe off the excess oil with a cloth. The safety cable also needs to be checked to avoid problems. For your own safety, never attempt to adjust the springs, the bottom brackets, or the hoisting cables yourself because of, among other things, the inherent risk associated with the great deal of tension in the springs. Call a Garaga-certi- f ied instal ler to handle the work for you. The garage door opener Weather condit ions may cause some minor changes in door operation requiring some re-adjustment. So it is impor- tant to do a check up once a month. Work the door manually. It must be well balanced. If the door is not balanced, contact a qualified garage door installer. Check if your door opens and closes completely. If necessary, adjust limits and/or force. Most garage doors openers come with two knobs for these adjustments. Consult your owner's manual. Check the safety reversing sensor. The door must reverse on contact if an object or a per- son is under it. Also, check if your photo sensors are correct- ly plugged in and aligned. The door should reverse i f any object passes through the beam. The opener does not require additional lubrication. Do not permit children to play with the opener. Keep the remote con- trol in an inaccessible location. Finally Consider your garage door as an important part of your home. Perform the suggested maintenance and it will provide you with carefree convenience for many years to come. We recommend you have the door inspected by a qual i f ied installer at least once a year. You can get some metal and weatherstrip lubricant through a Garaga door dealer. More information is available online at www.garaga.com. News Canada Prepare your garage door to meet Old Man Winter Ontarios new pesticide ban will come into effect in the spring of 2009, so nows the time to get your lawn off drugs and into great shape for next year. By following these simple steps from Ontarios Ministry of the Environment, you can do the ground-work before the snow flies and get your lawn ready for a healthy, pesticide-free season next spring. 1. Give your lawn a chance to breathe. Aeration, which removes small plugs of soil from the turf, allows air, moisture and fertilizer to get down deep to feed the root system, especially important for older, more com- pacted lawns. Aerators are avail- able at most rental outlets. 2. Overseed your lawn with a blend of grasses for shade and sun. The cool evenings and gen- tle rains in the fall allow seeds to germinate quickly and fill in any bare spots where weeds could take hold in the spring. 3. Top dress with compost. A healthy lawn needs healthy soil to resist pests and thrive. Spreading a thin layer of com- posted material is a good way to add nutrients to your lawn. 4. Fertilize with all natural or organic products. Most lawns only need one application of fer- tilizer in the fall when the top growth has stopped but the roots are still collecting nutrients. News Canada Go green this fall Four simple steps to a pesticide-free lawn