Garage Door Safety
Many homes have garage doors but unfortunately few people ever think about the upkeep and precautions that must be taken in order to ensure their family’s safety when using these doors. The garage door is the largest moving object in the average home and for this reason it can be dangerous.
Many people, especially children, don’t realize how dangerous garage doors can be. There are a few practices that should be avoided if you want to prevent injuries. The first is to never walk through the door while it is moving. Many people are too impatient to wait for the door to come to a complete stop before they walk under it and even make a game of it by trying to run through it while it is closing. For your own safety, wait for the door to completely open before you walk through it. If you are closing the garage, walk through it and then close it behind you.
If you have an automatic garage door opener make sure that the remote or the push-button on the wall is out of reach of children. It is difficult for children to comprehend the dangers of a garage door so it is better for a responsible adult to be in control of the button that opens and closes it. Make an effort to explain to your children that they should stay away from the door as well as any joints, hinges, or springs that can also cause injury when the door is in motion.
Garage door maintenance and tests will reduce the risk of accidents. One test is the door balance test. For the door balance test, you should operate the door by hand, so if you have a garage door opener you will have to release it. Start with the door closed and lift it to about 3-4 feet. The door should open smoothly and it should stay open at this height. If it doesn’t you should contact a qualified service person.
Many new garage door openers will have reversal features, if yours does not, you should upgrade to a newer model that does. A reversal test is recommended every month in order to ensure that it is working. Before conducting a reversal test, you should first conduct a door balance test, if the door is balanced, then proceed to the reversal test. To start the reversal test, fully open the door and place a 1.5” thick piece of wood on the floor in the center of the door. Close the garage with your remote or push button and make sure that the door goes back up when it hits the wood. If It doesn’t, it should be checked and repaired.
The force setting test is also used to test the reversal function of the garage door opener. It is conducted by closing your garage door with the remote or push button and holding the bottom of the door as it closes. If the door doesn’t reverse then it should be fixed.
Keep the moving pieces of the door lubricated except for plastic parts to ensure that the door will move up and down smoothly. Never remove or loosen the screws on the bottom brackets of the door because they are under high tension and should only be handled by professionals. Conducting these tests and maintenance monthly and following the precautions should give you confidence that your garage door is safe for use.
