Once your new garage door installation has been completed and the technicians have packed up their equipment and left, it can be very tempting to forget all about the safety warnings included in the user manual that came with your door. However, with more than 30,000 accidents involving overhead garage doors reported every year in the USA, this would be a mistake. Follow our tips and make sure that you stay safe at all times.
Staying Safe After Your Garage Door Installation Is Completed
A good quality garage door is not inherently hazardous if treated with respect but if you don’t take sensible precautions it can be a very dangerous piece of equipment. Make sure your family are not exposed to unnecessary risks by following our top garage door safety tips.
Read the User Manual
We’ve all operated garage doors before and we all know how they work, which is why so many of us simply cannot be bothered to read the user manual whenever we have a new garage door installed. However, there are many different types and makes of garage door for sale today so it’s always a good idea to read the user manual carefully, just in case it contains some critical information of which you are not already aware.
Be Aware of the Location of Other Family Members
Before you open or close your garage door, take a moment to consider where other family members are, including any pets you may have. If you are sure they are all safely out of harm’s way, you can proceed. On the other hand, if you are not sure where your wife, children or dog may be, it is always safer to get out of your vehicle and double check before you open or close the door.
Hire Professionals to Complete Any Repair Work That May Be Required
If you are handy with tools and enjoy DIY, you may feel confident in your ability to fix your overhead door should anything go wrong with it. However, we would like to urge you to exercise caution and call a professional instead. Unless you have specific experience in the field of garage door repair, you could be putting yourself and your family at risk by attempting to do the work yourself. If you live in Arvada or nearby, our repair team will be more than happy to visit your home and fix your door for you: just give us a call and let us know what the problem is.
Test All Safety Features on a Regular Basis
Modern garage door opening mechanisms have a number of safety features that are designed to protect you and your property. To make sure they are doing their job properly, you should test them on a regular basis. For example: to test the automatic reversing feature, you can place a soft object on the floor, where it will be squashed by the garage door if it is not detected. If this particular safety feature is working as it should, your garage door will stop descending and reverse as soon as it touches the object placed in its path.
Perform Monthly Visual Inspections
Once a month, take a few minutes to inspect your garage door and its opening mechanism. Pay special attention to all moving parts, including torsion springs, extension springs and cables. Broken garage door springs and cables are quite easy to spot in most cases and you could save yourself a lot of hassle and expense by having them replaced before they have a chance to cause any real damage.
Never Leave Your Door Halfway Open
Some families get into the habit of leaving their garage door halfway open when they are at home, so that pets can get in and out easily, and so the garage is better ventilated. While this might seem like a reasonable idea, it does expose you to more risk. In the event a spring should break while the door is in this position, it will fall quickly and could seriously injure anyone that happens to be standing in the way.
Change the Door Opener Code
If your garage door opener does not have a rolling code, make sure that you change it as soon as your new door is installed and at regular intervals thereafter. If you don’t change the default code that is set by the manufacturer, you will be making it much easier for potential intruders to enter your home through the garage door.
Always Lock the Connecting Door
If you have an integral garage, it is important to ensure the connecting door (from your garage into your home) is always locked. In this way, even if someone is able to force their way into your garage, they will not be able to get inside your home.
Turn off the Opening Mechanism When You Go Away
Whether you’re going away on vacation or planning to visit family out of state, you should always disable your garage door opening mechanism before you leave. Some door openers have a vacation mode especially for this purpose; for others, you can simply turn off the power.
If you would like to find out more about garage door safety or you are looking for a company that specializes in garage door repair in Arvada, please don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call us right now on (303) 422-0232.