My daughter turned two this weekend! As exciting and unbelievable as that is, birthdays means birthday parties, which means running errands for supplies and food for the other little ones that celebrated with her.  While I was on a frantic hunt for party favors, I was heading towards the exit when the door slammed shut behind a lady walking in.  Her response was fairly common – she yelped and jumped out of the way of the offending door.  While it was rather amusing to watch, there is no doubt that her perception of the store and brand dropped a bit. Don’t believe me? How would you feel if you were welcomed into a store by the door slamming behind you? I’m sure that’s not the first impression you had in mind. With that in mind, how do you prevent this from happening?  This is a common problem, but one of the easiest to address. Keeping your door closers in good working order addressing any issues as soon as you notice them will ensure they work properly.

Common Factors Causing Door Closer Malfunction:

• High winds blow the door open causing the door closer to break
• Leaking fluid
• Door alignment issues put stress on the door closer
• Improper adjustment of the door closer
• The door closer is under powered

Be on the lookout for these problems.  The first problem (doors catching in high winds) is an easy one to spot, and you will immediately notice that the door closer is malfunctioning.  Call a technician to see if the closer is repairable. The other issues are not always as obvious and will worsen over time.  If the fluid is leaking from the closer, you will notice an oily residue on the bottom of the door closer and/or a spot of oily residue on the floor under the closer.  Unfortunately, if the door closer is leaking fluid it will need to be replaced.  Many closers carry 10-year warranties, and higher end door closers carry 25-year to lifetime warranties.  Be sure to check your warranty and hopefully the cost of the part will be covered! If you notice the door scraping along any edge of the frame, call a technician to re-align the door.  This mis-alignment puts undue stress on the door closer and locking hardware.  Over time, mis-alignment will cause both the door closer and locking hardware to break.  If you heed our advice and remain on the lookout for these issues you’ll only incur a trip charge and labor to re-align the door. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck paying for a new closer as well – the warranty will be voided if there are door alignment issues. Door closers must be adjusted properly to have the right closing speed.  If your door is slamming, the issue may be as simple as adjusting the door closer.  This is a quick and easy fix for any technician to perform. If there have been no high winds, no leaking fluid, no door alignment issues, and no adjustment issues, you likely have an under powered door closer.  In other words, it’s likely that it’s not rated for the weight of the door and/or application in which you are using the door closer.  For example, if you install a door closer that is rated for residential storm doors on your facility’s entrance door, it shouldn’t be surprising when the door starts to slam. Remember – this is your customer’s first impression of your brand so make it count. Here’s to giving your guests a warm greeting in 2014! Google