Garages have become one of the essential parts of homes, and in this era, it is hard to do without them – it is where we keep our cars and excess items. Nevertheless, garage doors present several potential dangers when operating them, and even though they have shifted from manual to automatic, risks are still there. Always perform regular safety checkups and be very careful when working on your garage door to safeguard yourself from potential dangers. If your garage door is bent and you’re wondering what causes a garage door to bend in the middle so you can fix it yourself, don’t hesitate to ask one of our professionals instead so you don’t injure yourself trying to fix it.
Without further ado, this article will discuss several safety tips to protect you and your family from getting injuries when working on garage doors.
Test the reversing mechanism
Automatic garage doors are installed with the reverse mechanism to ensure that if anyone is in the door’s pathway when closing, they won’t get hurt. In some cases, people still get hurt either due to malfunctions or damage after a long time of using the garage doors. To prevent this, you should test the reverse mechanism at least once per month. Place an object such as a roll of toilet paper on the garage door pathway when closing and check if the garage door will sense the obstruction. If it doesn’t reverse, then know it is not functional and get a technician to fix it immediately.
Watch your fingers
Be careful when operating the garage door to protect your fingers from being hurt. Under no circumstances should you put your fingers on the garage door pathway. Refrain from adjusting the garage door parts as you may end up hurting your fingers, leave this to professionals.
Learn how to operate manually
In some instances, the garage door may not operate on automatic mode due to factors such as power outages, storms, or damages. Times like this leave you with no other options but to open your door manually. With the guidance of your garage door manual, you can learn how to operate it manually so that you are ready in case of any misfortune. If you are caught up in such a situation, unready, you may end up hurting yourself as you’ll operate it in a rush and with tension.
Teach your kids garage door safety
To prevent your youngsters from getting hurt operating the garage doors, you should teach them these two simple rules and practice one primary precautionary measure.
• Teach them that garage doors are not toys and hence they should shun from playing with them.
• Instruct them that they should never stand in the way of a closing garage door.
• Keep the openers and remotes out of their reach.
Carry out visual inspections
You may get hurt when operating the garage door when it is faulty, and thus, you should have a routine checkup to ensure everything is in good condition. Inspect your garage door monthly by looking for signs of wear and tear on the springs, rollers, pulleys, bolts, and cables and use the manual to see if these parts are functioning correctly. If any of these components is damaged, contact a professional for further inspection and repair. It would help if you did not involve yourself in the repair as components such as cables and springs may cause serious injuries when they snap.
Free and clear
If you are not careful, you may hurt your pet or child when closing the garage door. Check and remove them if they are in the garage door pathway. Also, check to remove other items which may break on encountering a closing door.
Don’t leave the garage door partially open
Most people leave their garages partially open to allow cooling or movement of pets in and out of the garage. However, this poses potential harm since, once activated, it may travel downwards and hurt anything that may be on its path. Leaving your door half-open may give a chance to pests to get in as they search for food and water, and they may end up harming you or damaging your items. Also, burglars may get a chance to access your home through the garage.
Don’t take the garage door safety lightly
Garage doors are working machines with fueled parts, and you should treat them with precaution like other machines. Ignorance can lead to severe injuries, and hence you should treat yours with caution and care. Always ensure they are functional to prevent any harm when using them and if they are not, get them repaired.
Garage door security tips
Keep the garage code a secret
You should never share your entry passwords since when many people know them, the less effective they are, and burglars can easily access your home from the garage.
Hide your opener
You should not keep your opener in an exposed area since it can be stolen and make it easy for thieves to get access into your garage. Similarly, don’t leave the remote control with the parking attendant or in the car.
Use a vacation lock
When going for an extended vacation, use the vacation lock on the wall console switch or unplug the garage door opener unit.
Purchase openers with rolling code technology
This enables changing of access codes each time the opener is used, thus preventing code grabbing.
Conclusion
Safety is crucial when operating garage doors, and you need to use the above-discussed tips to protect you and your family members. Purchase garage doors with safety measures such as automatic reversal system, infrared motion detector, and emergency manual release. Ensure regular maintenance practices are adhered to and keep garage doors up to standards. If you need repair, contact a professional and never do it yourself as chances of injuries are increased.