Smithfield has one of the largest industrial areas in western Sydney sitting directly alongside its residential streets. That means dust, and dust in a guide rail is the single most common reason a shutter here has started to bind.
We cover Smithfield in the 2164 postcode, both the industrial estate and the residential side, from The Horsley Drive through to the Cumberland Highway. Wetherill Park, Fairfield West, Prairiewood and Woodpark are all within a few minutes of it.
Homes here are mostly post-war and 1970s brick, many with shutters added for security, and the industrial estate runs commercial doors on heavy daily use. Both sides of the suburb deal with the same airborne grit, just at different intensities.
Guide rails here need cleaning more often than the manufacturer's instructions assume, because those instructions were not written for a street next to an industrial estate. Fresh water and a dry cloth are enough for most of it. Avoid heavy grease in the rails, because it holds dust rather than shedding it and the rail ends up worse than it started. A dry silicone lubricant is the safer option if anything is needed at all. The rails are the easiest part of the whole system to look after and the part almost nobody touches, which is why so many of the callouts here turn out to be a clean rather than a repair.
