The idea of going more than a year without taking your car to a mechanic seems ridiculous.
Even if we weren’t required by law to have our vehicles inspected, we’d want to have a professional check them out to make sure everything was in good working order.
The same thing applies to your stair lift. Having it serviced once a year can ensure safe passage for you or your loved ones.
And while major repairs and installations should be left to professionals, there are a few forms of home stair lift service you can do to keep your lift in good working order.
1. Know your stair lift
There are a lot of times where we buy a new appliance and find that we don’t really need to read the manual that comes with it. A lot of electronics just speak for themselves.
But we’d argue that you should make an exception when it comes to your stair lift. Your manual will tell you which maintenance tasks you can tackle on your own and which ones you’ll need to hand off to the experts. It will also tell you what not to do to prevent you from unwittingly voiding your warranty.
2. Clear the path
This is perhaps the most basic form of stair lift service you can do. Keeping your staircase free of any sort of obstruction is vital to its operation, as any collision with objects left on the stairs can cause damage and put the rider in danger.
It’s also important to keep your staircase dusted and vacuumed. Dust that collects on your steps – along with material such as pet hair – can become jammed inside the lift’s inner workings and lead to a serious mechanical failure.
3. Lubricate the rails
Just like your car needs its wheels, your stair lift needs its rails. Keeping them clean is one of the keys to keep your lift running as smoothly as possible.
We recommend wiping down the rails one each week using a dry – never damp – cloth. If the track seems particularly dirty, spray it with a little WD-40, then add a small coat of polish or lithium grease to the track’s side walls.
Never put grease or polish on the bottom surface of the track, as this will make the lift rollers slide in a dangerous fashion.
4. Make sure your nuts and bolts are tightened
Regular stair lift use can cause some of the bolts holding your machinery together to come loose over time, which can lead to a damaged rail and present a serious safety hazard. Loose screws and bolts are most likely to occur at the point where the seat attaches to the track, and the points where the track attaches to your staircase.
We recommend testing each of these junctures for looseness every few weeks. Just take care not to overtighten them which will make removal or future tightening difficult if not impossible.
If you’ve noticed more serious issues with your stair lift, or if it’s been more than a year since you’ve scheduled stair lift service, contact Pennsylvania Stair Lifts.
We’re always happy to hear from clients to help with any stair lift issues they have, and our large inventory and fabrication facility allow us to quickly address your issue.
