Steel doors, whether they're used for commercial or residential applications, are great choices for strength and protection. It's much harder for a person to gain entrance when a commercial steel door is in their way as opposed to a wooden door.
However, no entryway is immune from the elements or human error. If you want to keep them looking their best, there are considerations to be made. Among those considerations is whether they will rust, and how to keep them clean without harming the surface.
If they have glass kits in them, that's another consideration, as well. But with some tips for maintenance and repair, you can keep a steel door really looking its best for a long time.
Any door that gets installed on a home or building needs to be put in the right way. That's not just about the proper fit of the door, or whether the hinges line up correctly. It's also about good clearance when the door is opened and closed, ensuring that the door is not rubbing on anything along the frame, and looking to see whether it hits anything if it's pushed closed or pushed open more aggressively.
Once the door is installed, keeping objects out of the way of its travel path matters. Doors can be dented and damaged by hitting things placed in the way when they're pushed open, and that can lead to issues down the line.
Steel doors are not always immune to dents, dings, scrapes, rust, and other problems. But if you catch these early you'll have more of a chance to correct them before they really become issues. Finding problems with your steel door early lets you treat those problems at the size they are, instead of waiting until they get bigger.
Allowing a problem to go on for too long may mean that you have to replace the door entirely, and that can get expensive. Rather than take that risk and incur that level of cost, look for problems with the door and fix any of them you find as soon as they become noticeable. You'll be glad you did.
A steel door needs to be painted properly. Not unlike when painting the exterior of a building to make it look its best and protect it from the elements, you don't want to just use any paint, or add a coat of paint over top of what's already there without being sure the two paints will work well with one another. Also keep in mind that doors that already fit very tightly may not close well after they are painted. Coats of paint build up over time, and that makes the door just slightly larger than it was before. It may not seem like much, but it does make a difference. If you need to paint a steel door, follow any manufacturer's instructions on doing so. If there aren't any, make sure you treat the door with care and use the right kind of paint.
You don't have to examine the door with a magnifying glass every day, but you do want to make sure you inspect it regularly. Whether it's on the back of your house or the front of your commercial building, the door will be subject to wear and tear. Taking a look at it frequently can help you spot issues, including damage that needs to be repaired, anything that could be a hazard to people using the door, and problems with the fit of the door that could be letting water in or raising your utility bills. A good inspection on your door means a chance to fix things fast, so you can move on with your plans.