Why Your Patio Door Is Difficult To Slide

Did your patio door once glide easily, but now it's getting harder to open? This is not only inconvenient, it makes your home more uncomfortable and stressful. Difficulty sliding your patio door can come with a majority of reasons, from dirt and worn components, to actual problems with the door itself. 

Dirt and Debris in the Track

Over time, miscellaneous things from outside blow inside the home, and that includes the track of your patio door. Southern Nevada’s dry, dusty conditions can make this especially more noticeable. The dirt and debris in your patio door not only causes your door to slide less easily, but it also can cause premature wear (How to Clean Door Tracks). So keeping your door tracks helps a lot, and only takes up a few minutes of your time every couple of weeks to clean. 

Worn/Damaged Rollers

If your patio door’s rollers or bent tracks are worn out, this can impact your doors performance. If they are cracked and don’t rotate smoothly anymore, this might require a repair or replacement (How To Repair Your Sliding Door). 

Damaged or Misaligned Track

In addition to the dirt and debris causing problems in the track, in general just a damaged/misaligned track drastically affects a sliding doors performance. If it's bent, damaged, or even, this can cause problems. If you keep forcing your patio door to slide, this can make the problem even worse. This does not call for just a cleaning, you might need to replace it or straighten the bent tracks.

Weatherstripping Can Add Resistance

Weatherstripping helps create a seal around a patio door and helps reduce air leakage.  Even though weatherstripping is good, worn improperly installed, or too much of it can add resistance when the door is opening/closing. If your patio door feels harder to slide, it is wise to inspect the weatherstripping along with the track.

When It's Time To Replace

Cleaning, adjusting the door, or fixing your weatherstripping can’t help with every problem. If you’ve done all of these things, and it's still hard to open and close, it might be time to replace the door. It’s not only this though. If your patio door has significant frame/track damage, has worn components, has drafts, and/or is really difficult to operate no matter what, this might be for the best for you. 

Replacing your patio door has its benefits besides being more convenient. It can increase your home equity, lower your energy bills, and improve your security. 

Overall, a difficult to slide patio door is not necessarily caused by just one problem. It can be from dirty/damaged tracks, worn rollers, alignment issues, and weatherstripping problems. If cleaning or basic maintenance doesn’t solve your issue, contact us here at Window World today for help with your patio door in Las Vegas.