Sliding glass doors are generally used as an exit to a home or business, and therefore, it is one door that must withstand against all kinds of weather conditions.
You need to consider a few different things when purchasing a sliding glass door lubricant, like:
- Which lubricant is best across the board?
- What price range are you able to go to for your lubricant?
- What is the best base for a lubricant used on sliding glass doors?
We have designed this guide to help you in the pursuit of the best sliding glass door lubricant to fit your independent situation, which help to save both time and money, in the long run. Plus, it’ll help you ensure that your sliding glass door remains in top shape.
Product Name | Aerosol | Size | |
---|---|---|---|
Permatex 80078 Anti-Seize LubricantEditor's Choice | Yes | 10 oz | |
WD-40 Specialist Water Resistant Silicone LubricantEditor's Choice | Yes | 11 oz | |
DuPont Teflon White Lithium Grease | No | 10 oz | |
3-IN-ONE Professional Garage Door Lubricant | Yes | 11 oz | |
Blaster Chemical Company 9.3 Oz Garage Dr Lube | No | 9,3 oz |
80078 Anti-seize lubricant is manufactured by Permatex. It is designed with a brush top, which makes it convenient in applying this lubricant directly to the areas on your sliding glass door that need it the most.
Due to the fact most sliding glass doors are subject to weather conditions like rain and cold, this formula helps to resist both moisture and corrosion by blending together different copper, aluminum and graphite lubricants into one. The anti-seize formula will help with sliding glass doors that have become stuck over time, releasing the to open freely, once more.
Key Features
Precautions and Tips
When applying this lubricant, it is important to be cautious. If you are not careful, the brush applicator could have a messy application, due to the brush. To avoid the lubricant from being globby during the application, you should reduce the amount of lubricant on the brush by lightly scraping it on the inside of the bottle as you remove it.
This will help to ensure that only needed lubricant will remain on the brush, which makes the application a lot smoother and less messy. After every application, it is imperative to ensure that the brush top is screwed back on tightly, in order to avoid the lubricant from globbing together and making it useless in future applications.
- Resistant to corrosion and moisture
- Blend of copper, graphite, and aluminum lubricants
- Anti-seize formula
- Multiple lubricant purposes
- Applicator a little gobby
- Some packaging issues
This WD-40 formula is designed with a silicone lubricant that is meant to help make your sliding glass door water resistant. It utilizes a smart straw delivery system, which will allow you to reach into tight places to lubricate locking mechanisms and corners.
Not to mention, the smart straw allows you to choose between two different settings to spray the lubricant on your door, giving you the best possible option for your circumstances and door mechanics. Not to mention, this product is backed by WD-40, a long-time manufacturer of lubricant products who has perfected different formulas to meet certain needs.
Key Features
Precautions and Tips
One of the biggest things about this lubricant is you need to be careful with the smart straw. Due to its special features, if the smart straw is damaged, it could render the rest of the lubricant container useless. With this type of delivery system, it is also important to remember that it has two different spray options. So, you should make sure that you are paying attention to the specific setting to make sure that the lubricant reaches the intended areas.
- Smart straw application
- Silicone formula
- Water-proof
- No messy residue
- Useless if straw gets damaged
This Teflon white lithium grease is manufactured by DuPont, and it is designed to be used both indoors and outdoors, which means it may work suitably for your sliding glass door. It is designed to have little to no odor, which means that you can use it on the side of the house on your door, without being overtaken by the smell.
Most lubricants are slowed down when it gets extremely cold, which cause it to work less effectively and must be applied more often. Thanks to the Teflon formula used in this product, this is not an issue. This lubricant is designed to withstand both cold weather and hot temperatures.
Key Features
Precautions and Tips
The biggest precaution when using this lubricant is to understand that it is a very thick substance. Therefore, it is important to be cautious when using it so that it does not get into or on places that you did not intend. However, if you do get this lubricant in a place that is not desired, you should clean it up properly and quick to make sure that it does not settle on unwanted areas.
- Low odor
- Capable for indoor and outdoor purposes
- Resistant to freezing and extreme heat
- Enhanced with Teflon
- Sprays very thick
- More difficult to clean
3-In-One has been manufacturing lubricants for over 100 years, and this is just one of their latest lubricants, on the market. It is geared towards sliding glass doors and garage doors that must deal with extensive weathering. It is meant to reach all the inner workings and mechanisms of garage doors and help prevent any metal squeaking or corrosion.
They have added a smart straw delivery system, which makes reaching the inner workings of your sliding screen door easier and more convenient. Finally, this lubricant is meant to dry quickly, which means that it will drip less, requiring less clean up and fewer chances of it becoming hazardous to children and pets that frequent around the door.
Key Features
Precautions and Tips
Although effective, this lubricant is a light compound. Therefore, it is important to make a regular reapply schedule for it to work at its greatest. It is also important to note that this product does use a smart straw. Due to this, if the smart straw is broken, it can render the rest of the product incapable of applying. Therefore, it is important to store this product in a place where the straw will not get knocked or hindered in any way.
- Prevents corrosion
- Prevents metal components from squeaking
- Two spray options
- Quick drying
- Needs to be reapplied regularly
Blaster is a well-known manufacturer of lubricants, and they have created this formula specifically to assist with garage doors and sliding glass doors that encounter varying weather conditions. The Teflon Fluoropolymer that is used in this formula is meant to help be resistant to cold weather and helps to reduce any wear and friction f the sliding glass door.
This compound is designed with low odor, which means that it might cause some odor, but it is not overwhelming. You should be able to stand it and use it easily on your sliding glass door without having to worry about the odor overwhelming the inside of the home when used.
Key Features
Precautions and Tips
Due to the way this product is applied, it can be messy if you are not careful. Therefore, you should take extra precautions and have clean up materials on hand to ensure that the lubricant does not affect other materials around the sliding glass door in a negative fashion.
- Formula designed to help with squeaking
- Works well with cold temperatures
- Light odor
- Silicone-based with Teflon Fluoropolymer
- Messy application
- No return policy
Buyer’s Guide
Just like most things on the market, purchasing a sliding glass door lubricant is not a cut and dry answer. There are different factors that need to be considered. Sometimes the best brand for your situation is not the best brand for someone else.
In this section, we will address some of the following issues to help you make a more informed purchasing decision:
- What is the proper way to use sliding glass door lubricants?
- What safety precautions should be followed when using these lubricants?
- What type of material is the lubricant approved to use on?
- Does the type of container the lubricant comes in the matter?
With the following information, you should be able to make an informed purchasing decision about which sliding door lubricant is best for your individual circumstances.
Smart Straws
The word “smart” is used today to describe a lot of products, especially in the technology world, but “smart” in this case does not mean that it gives you any extra information.
When it comes to lubricants that have smart straws, this is simply a designed mechanical straw that is meant to help reduce the waste of lubricant when applying it to your sliding glass door. Usually, it will also reduce the cleanup process that you must go through when you are done.
Although this is a fabulous feature, it shouldn’t be the feature that makes your final lubricant purchasing decision. It should be considered if two lubricants are equal in every other way but having a smart straw mechanism is handy and worth considering if the option is there.
Application and Overapplication
Knowing how to apply your sliding glass door lubricant is the most important part of the process. It doesn’t matter how great the lubricant is that you purchase if you do not apply it properly. It is important to remember that when applying lubricant to your sliding glass door that you apply it thoroughly, in order to avoid any issues with skipping or other issues.
You should always make sure to apply the lubricant thoroughly to all the main parts of the sliding glass door because if you forget any part, it could render the process null and void. Secondly, you want to remember that you should set up a reapplication lubricant schedule because lubrication is not a onetime thing.
However, even if you set up a reapplication schedule, you may find there are times that you might require to reapply the lubricant other than at the scheduled time, but this is ok. It will not hurt if you find you need to do this.
Now, we will talk about over application of lubricant to your sliding glass door.
When we use the word over the application, we aren’t talking about the times when you apply the lubricant. As stated before, it is acceptable to reapply the lubricant as needed outside of scheduled times, if a problem arrives. What over application is referring too is the amount of lubricant that you use when applying it.
Whereas you want to ensure that every part of the sliding glass door is properly lubricated that requires it, if you over apply the lubricant you risk it dripping onto materials surrounding the door or even onto your skin, which can be hazardous to your health and to the health of the material it drops on if left there.
Not to mention, lubricant can be hazardous to not only children but pets as well. If you over apply the lubricant and do not properly clean it up, a pet or child could be poisoned by the lubricant, especially when it is still wet.
Compliance
When purchasing a sliding glass door lubricant online, it is important to ensure that the one you purchase is legal in your area. Due to the chemicals that are often found in lubricants, there are some local, state, and federal laws that lubricant manufacturers must abide by.
However, these are not always the same in every location. Therefore, you should check on what compliance laws are in your immediate area to avoid purchasing a lubricant that is illegal in your area and could cause you to be fined or imprisoned if found on your property.
Storage
Depending on the lubricant that you purchase, there might be special storage instructions that come along with them. However, here we will mention a few common storage tips that should be followed with all lubricants.
First, they should always be stored in a dry and cool place that is out of the reach of both children and pets. Second, you should never leave the lubricant container near a place that provides an extreme amount of heat, like a furnace, stove, water heater, etc. Finally, it is important that you store the lubricant in a place where it will not be punctured by anything. As a side note, they should also not be stored or left out in direct sunlight, due to temperature increase.
Safety
Sliding glass door lubricants are made from different chemicals, and some of these chemicals can be harmful if ingested or irate skin if left on it too long. It is important to remember this and keep all lubricants out of the hands of children and away from any pets that might be in the area.
For specific safety instructions regarding the lubricant you purchase, there is generally a safety label on the product that will provide those specific instructions.
Cold Weather Conditions
With sliding glass doors, they are generally exposed to the outside weather conditions. Therefore, it is important to take note that some lubricants do not work as effectively when they encounter cold weather.
If you live in an area where you experience weather that drops under 20 degrees Fahrenheit on a regular basis, you need to ensure that the sliding glass door lubricant that you use will still work just as effectively in cold weather.
Why is this? Cold generally slows down the reaction and motion of most lubricants. Therefore, if your lubricant is not decided for cold weather, your sliding glass door could still get stuck, despite you adequately and correctly applying it to the door.
Conclusion: And the Best Sliding Glass Door Lubricant Is…
After researching the five products above, we have concluded that the WD-40 Specialist Water Resistant Silicone Lubricant with Smart Straw is the best options for most situations when it comes to sliding glass doors. We recognize that everyone’s situation is different, but this formula has the most to offer multiple people. It provides a water-resistant formula that makes sure that your sliding glass doors are not affected by the rain, and it also has the smart straw applicator that allows you to control the flow of the lubricant easier than other products and direct it directly where it is most needed.
However, it is important to consider your own personal needs before following this suggestion. Research the different lubricants and make sure that they are compliant in your area, and that they will meet all of your lubricant needs for your sliding glass door prior to making your final purchasing decision.
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