Reliability. Convenience. Security. Your garage door should enhance your life by adding all of these qualities to your home. It certainly shouldn’t detract from your life in any way, which above all means that it should never injure you, your loved ones or your pets.
Sadly, this is not always the case. Between 20,000 and 30,000 people are injured by garage doors in the United States every year. Children, who pay less attention to their surroundings and enjoy playing with electronic devices, are at heightened risk of suffering a garage door injury, which frequently takes the form of crushing and pinched fingers.
As the greater Sioux City, IA area’s premier garage door service, we’re passionate about our specialty. We want garage doors to exclusively improve people’s lives – not threaten them. That’s why we hope you’ll follow these seven garage door safety tips every homeowner should know!
1. Don’t Let Children Play With Garage Door
You stand nothing to gain by giving your children an opportunity to play with the garage door opener. At best they will entertain themselves by opening and closing the door, which will needlessly wear out its motor and other parts. At worst, they will make a decision with an outcome that we haven’t got the heart to describe.
You may wish to supervise your kids while they watch your garage door’s operation up close. Doing so will safely demonstrate that the device is actually quite boring, and not deserving of further experimentation while adults aren’t present.
2. Learn How to Operate Emergency Release
Locate your garage door’s emergency release latch, which takes the form of a red cord attached to the trolley. Learn how to find and operate that release quickly – even when you’re in total darkness. It’s your easy way out of your garage in the event of a mechanical failure or power outage.
It is important to note that a burglar can activate a garage door’s emergency release by using nothing but a doorstop and a coat hanger. One or two prudently placed zip ties can prevent that kind of unwanted entry without stopping you from operating the emergency release inside your garage. For even greater security, consider uhttps://www.itstactical.com/intellicom/physical-security/safety-announcement-protecting-against-garage-door-break-ins/nplugging your garage door opener while you’re away on vacation.
3. Stay Away From Garage Door During Operation
Needless to say, the vast majority of garage door injuries take place while the door is opening or closing. A closing garage door is especially dangerous, as its panels can exert hundreds of foot-pounds of force against a misplaced finger. Don’t operate the garage door while anyone is nearby – and once again, teach your children to steer clear!
4. Never Leave Garage Door Partially Open
A poorly timed mechanical failure may cause a partially open garage door to snap shut, which will prove enormously unpleasant for anyone who happened to be passing beneath it. A partially open garage door is also a security risk. It will do no favors to your home’s energy efficiency, either.
5. Change Garage Door Code Often
If your garage door opener has a keypad entry, then part of your normal home security routine should include changing its code regularly. It’s added assurance that burglars can’t enter your home in the event that your code falls into the wrong hands!
If your garage opens via remote, consider getting a rolling code. It effectively changes the keyless entry code every single time you access your garage, which makes it virtually impossible for criminals to “hack” your door opener.
6. Regularly Test Garage Door’s Auto-Reverse Feature
If your garage door opener was installed recently, then it should include an auto-reverse feature. It is essentially a sensor that automatically halts operation when it detects an obstruction (i.e. a pet or child). Garage door sensors aren’t foolproof, however, as they often fail at their only purpose when they become dirty or old. If your garage door already includes a sensor, test it regularly with the aid of a roll of paper towels. If your garage door opener doesn’t already include this potentially life-saving safety feature, consider having it retrofitted or replaced with a newer model.
7. Choose a Professional for Maintenance and Repairs
If one of your garage door’s springs breaks while the door is open, it may send hundreds of pounds of wood or metal plummeting downward. Annual maintenance can reveal the presence of a failing spring before it has an opportunity to cause an injury. And while many types of garage door repair and maintenance are safe for amateurs to perform, spring and cable replacement do not count among them. Choose a local garage door repair & replace service instead!
If you would like a same day garage door serving expert in Sioux City, IA, then we welcome you to contact Shawn’s Same Day Service Garage Door today! We’ll make certain your garage door provides the reliability, convenience and security you and your family deserve – not a risk of serious injury!