How to Prevent Harmful Situations with Your Garage: Ten Garage Door Safety Tips
Are you aware that your garage door can be extremely unsafe? You’ll need to take the proper precautions to prevent any risky situations. We have ten garage door safety tips that will help you avoid any crises from happening and they will assist you in making your home as safe and secure as possible.
1. Don’t Let Your Kids Play with the Garage Door Remote
Your garage door remote isn’t a toy and shouldn’t be played with by children. It’s important to keep the remote out of reach of any child. If not, they could end up closing the door on any of your possessions or worse – themselves. Explain to your kids why they aren’t allowed to play with the remote and the risks of fooling around by garage doors.
2. Perform a Visual Inspection on Your Garage Door Every Month
Damaged garage doors can cause serious issues. For instance, if you have a wood doors, they can warp, rot and crack which can affect how the garage door opens. This can put you, your family and your home in danger and you will need to replace your garage door.
Fiberglass or steel doors won’t rot or warp but it’s still important to take proper care of them and perform monthly inspections. Making sure your garage door is functioning properly will create a safer environment at home.  If your garage door doesn’t sound or look right while opening, there is a problem that needs to be addressed.
There are also cables and springs that go into opening and closing your garage door that need to be inspected as well. If one of them were to become damaged or break, it puts additional stress on the other parts and cables while it’s opening and closing. When it comes to your garage door moving, you want to be extremely careful  and make sure you check the cables, springs and other parts inside once per month.
The last part of your inspection is to check the balance of your garage door. You’ll have to unlatch your garage door opener from the box inside your garage and manually open your door. If you are unable to open the door with one hand, your springs could be damaged and they’ll need to be replaced. Never replace the springs of your garage door on  your own because it is unsafe. Always hire a professional.
3. Locate and Know How to Use Your Garage Door’s Emergency Release
If the power were to go out or you needed to open your garage door manually, you should know where the emergency release is located and how it’s used. Your garage door’s emergency release is usually a cord with a red handle that dangles inside of your garage. You’ll need to pull on it to unlock the garage door and then you will be able to open your garage door manually. Always make sure that when you aren’t using the emergency release it is locked. All of the information for it is located in your garage door manual.
4. Read Your Manual!
Speaking of your garage door manual, make sure you review it and understand how everything with your garage door works. There are many moving parts that can become damaged or break which can put you and your family in danger. Understanding your garage door is a great first step in preventing any issues that can occur and making sure everyone will remain safe.
5. Never Leave Your Garage Door Partially Open
Leaving your garage door partially open is a recipe for disaster. When it remains open for an extended period of time, stress is added to the springs and cables causing them to break. If that happens, the garage door may not function properly.
Much like leaving any other entrance to your home open, there are security threats in having your garage door partially open as well. Burglars prey on easy targets for break-ins and it doesn’t get any easier than having your garage door open.
Additionally, animals and bugs would love the opportunity to use your house as their new home. Don’t give them the option by leaving your garage door partially open.
6. Purchase a High Security Garage Door Opener
There are several types of garage door openers that will provide your home with additional security. They make it much harder for burglars to break-in. A smart garage door openers can be opened and closed from anywhere using a smart device. If you’re ever worried that you left your garage open, you’re a single button press away from a clear mind.
There are also numerical key pads. These pads are found on the side of your garage door and will open it by inputting a code. If you were to get the numerical code opener, make sure the code isn’t something that can be easily guessed. That would defeat the purpose of a higher security garage door opener.
7. Never Fix Cables and Springs on Your Own
Do-it-yourself projects can be fun, but there is a time and place for everything.  As we mentioned in tip number two, if any of your cables, springs or other parts become damaged or broken, do not replace them yourself. If you aren’t sure what you’re doing or you make a mistake, it can put yourself, your family and your home in danger. Incorrectly fixed or replaced springs and cables could add significant stress to other parts causing the door to struggle when opening and closing. Contact a local professional to assist in fixing your garage door to ensure safety and security.
8. Are You Going on Vacation? Unplug Your Garage Door Opener
Something often overlooked is unplugging your garage door opener while you are away from your home for an extended period of time. Your opener should be unplugged and a vacation lock console security switch should be used in its place. This will render your garage door opener useless until it is plugged back in which will improve your home security while you are gone. The vacation lock is an accessory that is offered with most garage door openers and should be heavily considered – especially if you enjoy traveling.
9. Treat Your Garage Door Remote Like a House Key
If you’re out around town would you leave your house keys unattended in your car? Of course not, that would be foolish. Then why would you leave your garage door remote in your car unattended? It is another key to your home and should be treated accordingly. If you can’t fit the remote in your pocket or purse, hide it out of plain sight. As we mentioned above, burglars pray on easy targets so make it more difficult to be victimized. Once you return home,unless you park in the garage, you should remove the garage door remote from your car – bring it into your home. Leaving it outside is asking for trouble.
10. Never Go Under a Moving Garage Door
This should be self explanatory, but never go under a moving garage door. Even if it is opening, you should wait until it stops because if any parts are damaged, the garage has the capability of falling on you. There are a couple of different sensors you should consider to improve the safety of your garage door while it’s moving.
The first is a floor sensor. It is a laser that runs across the floor the length of your garage door. If at any point the laser is broken while the garage door is closing, it will stop and begin to raise. The issue with floor sensors is that it is very easy to step over. If you are trying to run and beat the garage door before it shuts by jumping over the sensor – which we would never recommend doing – you’re in serious danger.
The other sensor is a sensitivity adjustment in your garage door. If the bottom of the garage door hits anything on the way down, it will stop and begin raising. However, if there is any damage to the springs or cables, the door might be moving too fast to stop in time.
While these sensors are great additions to improve your garage door’s safety, the fact of the matter is that the only way to stay completely out of harm’s way is to avoid going under a moving garage door. Nothing is too important that you can’t wait a few seconds while your garage door is opening. Your life could be saved by waiting.
Now Stay Safe!
You now know what it takes to have a safe and secure garage door. Going through these ten steps will help protect you, your home and your family from any issues associated with garage doors. Never over look the dangers of your garage door – abide by these ten garage door safety tips and stay safe!
