Do you know about garage door safety? If no, you need to pay attention to it due to several reasons. Although garage doors are commonly used for storage or home projects, they also pose several safety and security issues. Doors can be extremely dangerous in some cases and to save your family and yourself, you should consider following some guidelines that are provided by the International Door Association (IDA) and Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association (DASMA). Moreover, June is considered to be garage door safety month and it’s a perfect time to follow these guidelines to have a safe life. Here are some tips you should consider for maintaining your garage door:
1. Visual inspection of the garage:
Although this is not something you have to do only in the month of June, inspecting your garage door as a whole is a must every month. There is a need to carefully observe the parts of the door including cables, rollers, springs, pulleys, etc. for signs of any wear and tear. If everything is fine, you can relax for the rest of the month, otherwise, you will need the help of a professional, as leaving your door untreated can be a major threat to your safety. Do all the maintenance as soon as possible to minimize the risks.
2. Keep an eye on the safety sensors:
Your garage door is a major source of your safety, which is why you cannot compromise on this. For maintaining your garage door, there is a need to check the safety sensors that are installed in the door. They should be installed six inches from the floor on the vertical tracks. The job of these sensors is to reverse the movement of the door if any person or animal passes through it while it is closing. To check the proper functioning of the sensors, push the close button and place a stick or a broom in its path. It should cut the beam and as a result, the door must move in the reverse direction. If this does not happen with your door, you need a professional to help for maintenance.
3. Keep your password safe:
As the safety of your house will depend partly on your garage door, you need to do everything for your safety. One of these is to keep the password of your exterior keypad known only to family members so that no one can get in without your permission. Some models now come equipped with smartphone operation, so you can open the garage door for a guest without having to disclose your password.
4. Give a briefing to your children:
If you have children in your home, it is your responsibility to provide them with all the garage safety door information. They must know that the garage door is not a toy. Teach them about the proper use of doors. They should not be allowed to put fingers between the door sections or hang from the opener arm! A good rule of thumb is to keep hands away from any moving door. Keep your children informed about the dangers of garage doors. Moreover, there are more than 7,500 injuries that are reported in which the fingers of children get caught in gate systems. Attention must be paid!
5. Take good care of your remote control:
It is a growing trend to get inside the house by stealing the remote control of the garage door from a car. To avoid any kind of harmful situations, always keep the remote of the door safe. Do not leave it visible inside your car in any case otherwise it could encourage theft. Moreover, for more security, you can have another lock on the garage’s entry door into the home, which can increase safety if the remote of the garage door is stolen. Although it may seem inconvenient, it is encouraged for the security of your home.
6. Testing the force of the doors:
The garage door is supposed to reverse when it senses pressure while closing. If this is not occurring, you need to contact a professional because proper functioning of the door is crucial. Additionally, you should not push the door to speed up their motion. Although it may seem like common sense, it is important to emphasize it here again. While your garage doors are moving, you should not push them to complete the process. This is extremely damaging to your garage doors and can result in serious physical harm.
7. Fix the broken glass or windows:
If you have a garage door that has glass in it or windows in the surrounding, there is a need to check them as well for maintaining your garage door. The glass should not be left untreated as it will also be harmful to the people passing through your garage door. Observe the condition of the glass closely and check if any cracks are about to start. If you notice something, take action immediately.
These are the tips that should be followed for your garage door safety. With careful observations, you will have more education, helping enable you to determine even when to replace your door. Delden Garage Doors provide you with the best door options in the market. Contact our authorized dealers if you need a new garage door or have any queries.
My husband and I recently noticed that our garage door has not been reversing when it senses pressure while closing. I like that you stated that you shouldn’t push on the door if this is the case. We have been extra careful as to not put any extra force on it, because we know that it would just damage it more. The garage door had recently been replaced when we bought the house, but now we are looking into getting it repaired because of this issue. Having a garage door that works well makes all the difference!
Yes Cameron, a working garage door makes a big difference! We would strongly recommend getting a professional out to give it a look before someone gets seriously hurt. Thanks for the comment!
My wife had mentioned the other day that our garage door isn’t working as well and is making a weird sound when closing and that has me a bit worried. I liked that you had mentioned that it can be important to give a visual inspection of the garage door often to make sure everything is working correctly. When I get home I’ll have to see if I can spot any problems with it currently if I can still hear that noise, I might need to get a professional out here to repair it.
We are pleased that this post offered you value for the ongoing, safe operation of your garage door. Thanks!
After moving into a new home, my fiance and I noticed that our garage door is not working properly. We are thinking about getting a garage door service to come to our home. In the meantime, we will make sure the broken glass is taken care of.
Thanks for the comment Alexandria!
Hi, thanks for the article. Ive been browsing sites about garage safety because recently I have had a problem with my garage door. It is at my parents home and has worked fine for maybe 4 years. In September, they left for a trip to Santa Fe for a couple days and when they came back, they found that when the garage door is closing and encounters resistance (an object, or someone standing beneath it), it takes around 5-7 seconds to fully stop. As far as we know, no one has been using the garage while they were gone. Do you think this a serious problem? Is it likely to get worse? If so, do you happen to know what might be causing the problem?
Thank you
Good questions! This sounds like a serious problem and could be dangerous.
If the door is closing and it detects an obstruction it should reverse instead of just stopping. It might be a really old operator that doesn’t have a reverse feature. Does it have the photo eyes attached near the bottom of the vertical tracks? Sounds like it might be a clutch style of operator which makes it pretty old, if it is a residential unit.
The springs probably need to be adjusted or replaced. Due to the likely condition of your current springs, when the operator stops running, the door probably continues to fall until it gets to a place where it is balanced enough that the operator can hold.
We definitely recommend that you have a professional give it a look.
It was amazing when you said that if there are kids in the house, it’s best to teach them about the functions of garage doors and make it clear to them that it’s not a toy that they can play with. I learned that the hard way though because my younger sibling played in the garage and banged their bikes and toys against the garage door. The mechanism ended up misaligned. Now I need to call a professional. Thanks for sharing. I’ll keep your tips in mind from now on.
Hey, thanks for the article! Before a days ago I started to have a problem with my garage doors, actually, the opening and closing get very hard day by day. Now I am thinking to call an expert to get resolve the issue first.
Hey, thanks for the article! Before a days ago I started to have a problem with my garage doors, actually, the opening and closing get very hard day by day.
Very informative blog post I have read today! Thanks for sharing.
Useful information, although would be of value to see an updated version as I guess a lot of garage door tech has improved since 2017.
Cheers
Lee
It was informative when you explained that inspecting your garage door every month is a must. I would think that it would be important to inspect the tracks to make sure that there is no debris stuck in them. It seems like you would want to make sure that there is no debris that can damage the wheels of your garage door system.
Such a timely and valuable post! Kudos to the writer for sharing these crucial garage door safety tips. Your insights prioritize our well-being. Thanks a bunch for keeping us informed and secure!
All the information that you shared with us about Online is very useful and important. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing these safety tips! It’s easy to overlook garage door safety, but these reminders are so important. I never thought about the force setting on the garage door opener – definitely going to check that now.