How to Unfreeze a Garage Door in 7 Steps
Don’t let ice on your garage door hold you hostage
- Ice scraper
- Shovel
- Five-gallon bucket
- Heat gun (optional)
- Blow dryer (optional)
- Hot water
How to Unfreeze a Garage Door Yourself
Even if you love the frosty beauty of a snowy winter, a frozen garage door is no fun. Nobody wants to arrive late to their destination due to a stubbornly stuck door. Fortunately, there are ways to unfreeze the door, so you can step into your home’s garage, hop in your car, and head out in just a few minutes with these tips.
Don’t Force It Open
Before you do anything, it’s important to remember not to force open your garage door. Repeatedly trying to open the garage door with the remote won’t give you the results you want. In fact, pressing the button continuously even after it’s showing signs that it’s frozen shut can burn out the motor or break the bar that connects the motor to the garage, in which case, you might need to replace it or reset the garage door opener.
Likewise, don’t manually open the door. Not only could you slip on ice, you could also tear and cause additional damage to the weather seal, which is the rubber bottom of the door that helps keep water and cold air out of your garage.
Manually Remove Snow and Ice
Photo: T.Den_Team / Adobe StockYou might be able to get away with simply removing as much snow and ice as possible from the outside of your door. You can use an ice scraper and a shovel to do this. Aim to clear away a foot or so of snow in front of the door, and then scrape the ice off around the edges. This could be enough to unstick the door and get it to open.
Heat It Up
Severe ice build requires more drastic measures, including careful heat application. To use heat to thaw out a frozen garage door, position a blow dryer or heat gun 6 to 12 inches away to melt the ice binding the door. This method prevents damage to the rubber seal or any other garage door components.
You can also point a space heater toward the garage door to melt ice more evenly around the door. Do not use fuel-based heaters in an enclosed space like a garage, and keep an eye on the heater to ensure it doesn’t become a fire hazard. This method takes more time but it’s much easier to set up and operate.
Pour Hot Water On the Garage Door
To quickly melt ice around a frozen garage door, try carefully pouring hot water on it. Fill a five-gallon bucket partially with heated water. Steadily pour the water in a line at the base of the garage door so that it flows under the garage.
Don’t throw hot water at the sides or top of the garage door, which could damage nearby sensors and cause other ice problems. You should also keep hot water and other heating techniques away from the garage door spring, which may become compromised by the sudden temperature shift.
Use a Hammer and Stake to Chip Away Ice
Your garage door isn’t a vampire, but a hammer and a small stake (such as a spare gardening or tent stake) can be helpful in unfreezing it. To chip away garage door ice, locate the thickest ice deposits holding the garage door in place. Then, press the stake thin into the gaps of the garage door. Tap the stake firmly with the hammer on the ice deposits to break them up. You can switch to an ice scraper to remove broken-up parts as necessary. This method can work well in combination with a space heater or similar options.
Apply Ice Melt to the Garage Door Edges
Ice melts like magnesium chloride can work even in very cold weather. Apply a layer of ice melt to the bottom of your garage door to help melt the ice faster. You can also use ice melt as a preventative layer if you are expecting a cold, snowy night. We do not suggest using rock salt to free a frozen garage door, as it can corrode the metal pieces of the door and may eventually seep into nearby lawn soil.
Open and Shut the Door to Clear It
Warm up your muscles and get ready to apply a little strength to the door. Try to open your garage door manually by finding the short rope hanging from the garage door track, usually near the motor. Pull and release it to put your garage door into “manual mode.” Now, you can gently press on your garage panels and push them up.
Don’t use too much sudden force, which could damage the garage door. Apply intermittent pressure to see if you can break the garage door free of any ice or snow blockages. Your goal is to create enough momentum to propel the garage door up along its tracks and open it. You can re-engage the motor once the weather warms and the door opening is clear of ice and snow.
How to Prevent Your Garage Door from Freezing Shut
As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. By planning ahead and following these tips, you could prevent your garage door from freezing shut, saving you time and preventing a stressful situation.
1. Clear Ice and Snow Early
As soon as you notice any ice or snow (be sure to check regularly once the temperature drops), clean it up right away. You should also keep your driveway clear of snow and ice. Your car, you, and other people going into the garage can drag snow inside, and snow that falls near the garage door can end up beneath it and cause it to freeze shut.
2. Perform Regular Maintenance
Regular maintenance is critical to maintaining your garage door and all of its components, such as the opener system. Make sure to lubricate the seal at the bottom of the door as well as rollers, springs, and hinges. Perform a thorough inspection for any moisture buildup and check for any damaged or worn components. Completing these tasks seasonally—and especially before a harsh winter comes through—will keep your garage door functioning well for many years.
3. Open and Close the Door
By using your garage door, you can stop small ice formations from becoming larger ones, as the door’s movement can help break apart any ice that has formed. If you can, manually open your door, just in case the opener system is damaged by the winter weather.
4. Put Sand and Salt Out
By throwing salt or sand down where the garage door touches the ground, you could prevent ice from forming in the first place. You only need a little—too much could damage the weather stripping. Once spring arrives, sweep away any leftover salt or sand and clean the bottom of your garage door.
5. Don’t Warm Your Car in the Garage
Warming up your car inside your garage is bad for two reasons. Firstly, running the car in a closed space releases poisonous carbon monoxide. Secondly, your warming car could melt ice and snow on the garage floor, creating puddles under the door.
6. Install a Garage Heater
Not only will a garage heater keep your garage more comfortable year-round, but it can also prevent your garage door from freezing as the floor will be warmer, preventing ice from building.
When to Call a Pro
If you’ve tried all the above steps and your garage door still won’t budge, then it’s time to call a garage door company near you. A professional can assess the situation, check if anything needs to be repaired, and help you find a quick solution to your problem. Additionally, if you think you’ve done damage to any of the materials and need to get the garage door replaced or repaired, we recommend hiring a pro to do the work.
If something is broken, garage door repair costs usually fall between $150 and $350, or around $225, on average. You could be looking at totals of a little over $500 if you’ve done damage to the garage door opener and need to have it repaired or replaced. Having a professional replace a garage door costs between $750 and $1,200 in most cases, so you’ll definitely want to avoid doing severe damage that requires replacement.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best way to prevent your garage door from freezing is to install a permanent source of heat in the garage. You can have a professional tie in your main heating system or install a ductless mini split as a standalone heating solution. You can also insulate the garage to prevent temperatures from dropping to the point that the door freezes shut.
It’s possible to use a torch to melt ice on your garage door, but we don’t recommend it. It’s very easy to bring the flame too close to the door, which can melt the weather stripping or even the garage door itself. You’ll melt ice quickly with a torch, but the damage you’re likely to cause can end up costing you a few hundred dollars to fix, which isn’t worth it. Instead, we recommend pouring hot water over the frozen area or using a less intense heat source, like a hair dryer or space heater.
If you take caution around fragile garage parts, thawing methods shouldn’t cause problems. Avoid using direct sources of heat too close to the garage door, especially rubber parts.
Another spot to avoid heating is the garage door spring. This powerful metal spring can become very cold in winter. Applying heat to a cold spring increases the chances it could break.
Garage door freezing is prompted by snowfall and freeze/thaw cycles instead of the temperature. If you get a lot of moisture around the garage door, whether from rain or melting snow, and temperatures quickly drop below freezing (32 degrees Fahrenheit) at night, that’s a recipe for a frozen garage door. Winters with steep temperature drops overnight are more likely to create this problem, especially low temperatures to sustain a freeze, so weather in the lower 20s is a common culprit.
If your garage door won’t close because of freezing conditions, try heating it up. Releasing the door and trying to manually close it is often effective. A door in the open position is unlikely to get as much ice build-up, so it shouldn’t take as much effort to close it. When the door is closed, try to keep the garage warm and winterize it to prevent it from freezing shut.
If your garage door seems to freeze every winter, you can try rubbing silicone spray or petroleum jelly around the edges and rollers of the garage door. However, it’s a good idea to avoid direct application of silicone sprays like WD40 to rubber edges, which could damage them over time. A garage door that frequently freezes shut could need a full replacement, especially if it’s showing signs of rust or other wear and tear.
