9 Tips For Maintaining Your Iron Doors

Let’s discuss each tip to maintain your iron doors well; it will take about 5 minutes to finish reading.

Avoid bump and strike

Do not put sharp or heavy objects near the door; the sharp objects might scratch the door’s paint, and the heavy objects, especially the round objects near it, may bump or strike the door and damage it.

 

Clean regularly

Your iron doors will look like new if you clean them regularly; it is unnecessary to clean them every day, say one time per month is enough, and wash them on some special days like the days after a storm.

How to clean iron doors?

Step 1: Prepare the materials

Before cleaning, please prepare these tools:

• One bucket
• Soap
• Small ladder
• Hose
• Two pieces of cloth, one for washing, the other one for drying

Step 2: Dissolve Soap in Water

Take a little soap in your bucket with some warm water. Try to disturb the water and make the soap dissolve in the water, and you will see many bubbles outcoming.

Step 3: Give the door a quick rinse

Use soft water to give the door a quick rinse and eliminate the dust, dirt, bugs, and other debris.

Step 4: Wash the door

Take one cloth as the washing cloth and soak it in the dissolved soapy water to absorb the warm soapy water. Take it out and wash the door, including the glass panel. Here you should pay more attention to the corner because there are always bags of dust or other dirty things getting together on the corners.

Step 5: Wash the Soap Off

Use the clean water and give the door a rinse again; this rinse is to wash and remove all the soap on the door.

Step 6: Wipe the water off

Take a clean & dry cloth to wipe the water off as best as possible. You should make sure there is no water hidden in the weatherstrip. If water is left in the weatherstrip, the water will rot the weatherstrips and corrode the iron.

Step 7: Wait for the door to dry naturally and close it

Keep the door open for several minutes, and wait for it to dry naturally and thoroughly; then, you can lock it.

Keep far away from chemical

Chemicals can devour the metal, so you should keep in mind to keep the iron doors far away from any chemicals to avoid corrosion.

Keep dry

On rainy days, ensure all the window latches are closed well, not allowing water to penetrate the weatherstrips.
You’d better keep the door dry when washing the door or after rain. Not only to keep the face of the iron door dry but also to keep the part with the weatherstrips around dry. Never leave water hidden back in the weatherstrip; it will probably make the door rusty.

Grease hinges regularly

A squeaky door will disturb you when you are Concentrating on your work. Is there any method to stop a door squeak? Let’s make it happen by greasing the hinges of the squeaky door.

How to grease hinges?

1. Get a cloth to clean the door hinges and eliminate all dirt build-up.

2. Lubricate the hinges with silicone spray or lithium grease.

• Silicone spray and lithium grease are the 2 widely used lubricants for door hinges, and you can get them easily from hardware stores or buy them online.
• You can grease the hinges with the door hanging; it will be better to take the pins out to oil them and put them back into place.

3. Wipe off the excess and test by opening and closing the door.

4. Repeat the above 3 steps if it is still squeaky.

How often to grease the hinges?

It depends on your area; you may have to take a few maintenances regularly to keep the hinges working as new. If you live in a ventilated and dry place, you may oil the hinges once a year. If you live near the coast, you had better grease the hinges of your iron door each 3 months. The salty air and humid water might corrode the hinges and doors if you can’t maintain them regularly.

Change the rotten weather seals

Check the rubber weatherstrips to ensure they sealed the iron door tightly. If there is any rotten spot, then change to a new one.

 

Change the worse door sweep

Check the door sweep to ensure all is in good condition. If there is any damage, change to a new one right away.

Remove rust

How to remove rust from your iron doors, there are 4 steps:

Step 1: Look for Spots of Rust

For a new iron door, you need to keep it clean and dry. There are probably no rusty spots. As your iron door using days increase, say 5 years, you’ll have to start inspecting if you find any signs of rust or corrosion. You can take a whole look to check if there are any rusty points and scratches, and you can touch the door surface to feel if there are any bumps and rough places. Once you find it, go ahead to handle it right now to avoid more and further damage.

Step 2: Remove Rust

Remove rusts with a wire brush or sandpaper, then use a detail sander to eliminate all rusts.

Step 3: Wipe off all sanding dust

Do wipe off the sanding dust after removing the rust, and keep the door clean. This step is helpful for priming and painting.

Step 4: Prime and Paint

Make sure the door’s surface is dust-free, and you can start to prime the door. The painting will be started after the prime is dry.

You can get a fresh look for the door after painting. For more technics to remove rust, please read: How To Repair The Rusty Iron Doors?

Lock the doors when no use

Lock the doors when no use, and especially on those rainy days, do remember to lock the flush bolt and window latch!

Summary

It is easy and quick to maintain an iron door; it doesn’t need care every day; you just need to do basic care: keep the iron door avoiding bumps and strikes, keep it dry and far away from chemicals, inspect it and change the worse accessories like weatherstrips and door sweep, and oil the grease regularly. Through a few maintenances, your iron entry door will get a fresh and luxurious look and increase your home’s curb appeal. The proper care will hopefully help your iron entry doors to live for more than 30 years.
Now that you know how to maintain an iron door, contact me to find a style of iron door fitting for your house and get an instant quote!