When your Cleveland automatic doors get glitchy, it’s time to get on the phone with Advance Door. Our knowledgeable commercial door repair & replacement experts can help you troubleshoot and outline an action plan for short- and long-term solutions aimed at keeping your people safe and your operations running as smoothly as possible.

Automatic door hiccups are often traced back to worn-out actuators or springs, failing/dirty motion sensors, aging motors, or rusted/worn-out chains. We’ll help you pinpoint the issue and clearly lay out the pro’s and con’s of each repair/replacement option.

We recognize an automatic door malfunction can be much more than a mere annoyance. It might actually cost you a fair bit of money and potential business. Worse still is the possibility of a liability/safety problem.

A few years ago, the District of Columbia had major glitches when it began unveiling automatic doors on its Metro lines. The DCist reported doors in the subway were automatically opening (fine), automatically closing early (not so good), and sometimes opening automatically on the wrong side of the platform (very bad).

Even if you aren’t operating a major metropolitan public transportation system, getting your Cleveland automatic doors functioning properly again is probably a top priority. We pride ourselves on fast, reliable services. Our Northeast Ohio commercial door experts are on call 24/7, 365-days-a-year for commercial customer emergencies like these. We can also offer insight on whether a glitchy automatic door is safe to use while work is pending or if it needs to be out of commission entirely until the problem is fixed.

Automatic Doors: The Tech We Take for Granted

Automatic doors are so ubiquitous these days, most of us rarely give them a second thought – at least so long as they’re working properly. What’s more, the technology on which most of them rely seems comparatively quaint now, considering we’re all walking around with personal, pocket-sized computers. (If we’re being honest though, who among us never stood in front of an automatic door as a kid and pretended to be a Jedi at least once?) But back in 1931 when the first automatic door was introduced at a Connecticut restaurant in the Stanley Works building (between the kitchen and the dining room to allow for faster food service), it was revolutionary. One observer heralded it as, “one of the most satisfactory pieces of equipment we have ever installed…”

Now, automatic doors are everywhere from sky rises to chicken coops. Most use sensor controls that direct the opening and closing features, which are set on a timer triggered by an actuating signal (such as a foot crossing a certain threshold). There are many different types of sensors to choose from, such as radar movement sensors, optical/motion sensors, pressure sensors, and infrared sensors.

Among the many advantages of installing Cleveland automatic doors in public and commercial spaces:

• High energy efficiency and cleaner environments because they can be airtight – preventing air conditioning from escaping and hot air, dust, rain, and debris from entering.
• Fewer “touch points” to spread germs, as people can pass through hands-free.
• Quiet operation.
• Easy, hands-free access for employees and guests with disabilities.
• Less risk of injuries from sudden door swings and slams – particularly when people who are walking in or out of the establishment may have their hands full and their minds distracted.
• Can be integrated with other technologies to boost security and rapid emergency responses.
• Available in many forms to fit your operational needs. Options include (but aren’t limited to) sliding doors, automated swing doors, PVC strip curtains or crash doors, folding doors, fast-action doors, scissor gate doors, automatic telescoping doors, roller shutter doors, and more.

Getting Your Business Back on Track

If you’re experiencing malfunctions with your Cleveland automatic doors, one of the first things we recommend is double checking to see if a power interruption was to blame. It seems like such a simple thing, but you’d be surprised how often an accidental flick of the “on/off” switch is the catalyst for issues. If you know there was a power outage that impacted the door, try resetting the circuit breaker to see if that’s the problem.

If you’ve already done that (or if you aren’t sure exactly how to do this with your system), give us a call. We’ll check for:

• Broken rollers. Damaged rollers can cause delays, stilted motions, or complete misalignment. These usually need replaced.
• Worn-out chains, belts, and tracks. (Check with the manufacturer’s guide, but in general, make sure you’re greasing these components regularly to reduce friction and wear.)
• Failing motors. When an automatic door motor sputters out, there’s usually nothing for it but to replace it.
• Motion sensor failures. Your motion sensors could just be dirty or have debris on them. If that’s it, your fix is a fairly fast one. But if not, the sensors may need replaced.

If you have questions about the automatic door malfunction at your commercial location, reach out and we’ll give you a rundown of your options.

Advance Door Co. provides commercial automatic door products, services, repairs, and replacements to customers throughout Northeast Ohio, including Cleveland, Parma, and surrounding communities.

Additional Resources:

Almanac: The first automatic door, June 19, 2016, CBS News

More Blog Entries:

Why Cleveland Commercial Door Customers Choose Hollow Steel Doors, May 15, 2023, Cleveland Commercial Door Company Blog