Should you lubricate garage door cables?

You should not lubricate garage door cables themselves, and most garage door professionals specifically advise against applying grease or oil to the lift cables. The cables are made of braided steel aircraft wire and are designed to work dry. They spool and unspool around the cable drums at the ends of the torsion tube and run in grooves. If you apply heavy grease, oil, or sticky lubricant to the cables, it will attract dust, sand, and grit that acts like sandpaper, accelerating wear on the cables and the drums. It can also cause the cable to slip on the drum or not wind evenly, which can lead to the door becoming crooked, binding, or even coming off the drum, which is dangerous due to the high spring tension. What you should lubricate instead are the parts that interact with the cables. Lubricate the torsion spring itself, the bearing plates where the torsion tube spins, and the pulleys if you have an extension spring system. If cables look rusty, frayed, kinked, or have broken strands, do not try to lubricate them to save them. Rusty or frayed cables are a serious safety hazard and should be replaced immediately by a qualified technician because they are under extreme tension.