Garage door weatherstriping freezes to floor. Help?

[jargey3000]

I just moved to a new house - my first with a garage! I'm finding this (cold) winter that with I guess humidity in the garage, and water snow run-off from the car along the bottom of the door, that the rubber weather-strpping on the bottom of the garage door is continually freezing to the floor. When I hit the electric opener, nothing seems to happen for like a split-second - then the door finally jerks up & starts to open the rest of the way. ( It was opening very smmothly in the summer / fall ... with no ice!).
This cant be good? Any suggestions for eliminating/controlling this problem? Or do we just live with it? I've heard some people say to put grease (or even Vaseline) on the strip. Any other comments. Thanks.

 

[jargey3000]

I just moved to a new house - my first with a garage! I'm finding this (cold) winter that with I guess humidity in the garage, and water snow run-off from the car along the bottom of the door, that the rubber weather-strpping on the bottom of the garage door is continually freezing to the floor. When I hit the electric opener, nothing seems to happen for like a split-second - then the door finally jerks up & starts to open the rest of the way. ( It was opening very smmothly in the summer / fall ... with no ice!).
This cant be good? Any suggestions for eliminating/controlling this problem? Or do we just live with it? I've heard some people say to put grease (or even Vaseline) on the strip. Any other comments. Thanks.

 

[havasu]

I'd think a weatherstripping applied to the floor would solve this problem.

 

[jargey3000]

....hmmmm..... but, what about driving the car in & out over the w/s on the floor? wouldn't it ruin it over time? plus, where would the melted snow off the car run once it came up against the floor w/s ?

 

[havasu]

Driving the car over the weatherstripping would not cause a problem if it was set with epoxy. Your biggest concern is channeling the wetness away from the area. A 1/4" sawcut in the concrete would really help as well. You could also try adding some spacers to the bottom of the door seal to stop the door from contacting the freezing water.

 

[Bubaman]

You could try wiping the weatherstripping down with a silicone spray or WD40.It will stop the water from sticking to the rubber when it freezes.I do this on all my vehicles also so the doors don't freeze shut works well for me. Hope it helps.

 

[Bubaman]

You could try wiping the weatherstripping down with a silicone spray or WD40.It will stop the water from sticking to the rubber when it freezes.I do this on all my vehicles also so the doors don't freeze shut works well for me. Hope it helps.

 

[jargey3000]

thanks. You read all sorts of things here on the internet! Somewhere I read that i should use the silicone, not WD40 , as WD40 will tend to "degrade" the rubber in the w/stripping. Any comments on that ???

 

[jargey3000]

I'm not too crazy about leaving any gaps between the door & the floor.
I dont want any "wildlife" (ie mice etc.) creeping in!

 

[havasu]

I consolidated both threads to keep this conversation less confusing.

 

[jargey3000]

yes, thanks. sorry about posting twice.

 

[havasu]

Not a big deal. We are small enough to tweak thinks for easier reading.

I'm still thinking that you would be concerned about pooling water in your garage when it freezes. If not, just go with the recommended lubricant on the weatherstripping. It may shorten its life by a few years, but they are easily replaced and found at any big box hardware store.

 

[DNA]

Go get yourself a garage door air seal. It should stop your door seal from freezing to the floor. Www.xxx

 

[Fordf150]

Use a silicone spray on the rubber seal. This will keep the door from sticking to the concrete.

 

[Deckape]

<---- Recommends Silicone Spray. It's made to use on rubber and 'artificial rubber' products; it's cheap easy to find, and doesn't leave traces of itself everywhere. If it's good enough to protect my $50,000 camper's slideout seals, it's good enough for my $16 garage door gasket. EDIT: Additional tip: Cheap cooking spray (IE: Generic "PAM" type stuff) around a buck a can at Wally World; This works to lube and prevent freezing the rubber to the road, also good for spraying inside the fenderwells of your car to prevent snow & ice from building up in them. it's bio-degradable, and comes in several flavors, YUM!