Vent: Stop using WD-40 on elevator door tracks

I keep seeing guys at my shop spraying WD-40 on sticky door tracks. That stuff is a dust magnet. Did three callbacks last month on the same Otis unit at a mall in Phoenix because the track was gummed up with WD-40 residue. Use a silicone based lubricant or just clean the track with a rag first. How long till people learn this?

2 comments

2 Comments

noah2486d ago

Has anyone else ever had to scrape a half-can of WD-40 out of an elevator track with a popsicle stick? Because I have, and at that point you're not a mechanic, you're a forensic investigator trying to figure out who thought 'spray and pray' was a solid repair plan. Had a similar issue at a hotel in Tucson where the door kept sticking because the previous guy just kept drowning it in the blue and yellow can. Silicone lube is the way, and cleaning the track first takes five minutes. What's the worst cleanup job you've had from this stuff?

lindahunt6d agoMost Upvoted

That half-can of WD-40 in the elevator track is something else entirely. I had a similar mess at a church basement in Minneapolis where the door to the boiler room was practically swimming in the stuff. Someone had been spraying it for years because the hinge squeaked, and it turned into this sticky, greasy sludge that grabbed every bit of dust and lint that floated by. I ended up using a putty knife and a handful of old rags to dig it all out, and it took me the better part of a Saturday afternoon. The popsicle stick idea is genius, actually - I wish I had thought of that before I ruined a good kitchen spatula on that mess.