Garage Door Safety Ideas
Elegant statement-piece garage doors are all the rage, and you’re probably giddy to get your own, but it’s important to remember that this mechanism isn’t just for show; it’s heavy-duty machinery that can cause serious injury or property damage if improperly maintained. So what can you do to keep your garage door as safe as possible? Featured below are some of our top tips in garage door safety.
Safety Sensors for Garage Door Safety
The sensors on your garage door are there to stop the garage from closing if it detects movement, like a child that’s trying to slide under the door while it’s closing Indiana Jones-style. If these safety sensors aren’t properly working, then your child, pet, or property can get trapped under the door and seriously injured.
Check frequently to make sure your garage door’s sensors aren’t blocked, and that they are both properly connected and correctly aligned roughly four to six inches off the floor of the garage.
Door Repair
Because of the danger a malfunctioning or broken garage door can pose, we highly recommend that when you’re in need of repair that you hire a professional. Local professionals will be happy to assess the damage and give you an estimate on what it will cost to fix whatever problems your garage door may be having.
Manual Release
One of our top pieces of advice is making sure you know how your garage door’s emergency manual release works. This is a cord that dangles from the motor box, and is essential if there’s an emergency that makes other openers useless or if the electricity is out.
Keep an eye out for the bright red handle hanging from your garage door’s track, and if needed, pull to release it from the opener and open it manually.
Keypads for Garage Door Safety
Many of us use our garages practically as the main entrance to our homes with the kind of ease it provides, especially during suboptimal weather. All we have to do is open it, drive in, and there’s our home entry only a few steps away.
But if your power goes out in the event of a thunderstorm or other severe weather event, you may not be able to get inside–and you don’t want to be stuck in your driveway! This is where a keypad armed with a battery backup can come in handy.
A battery backup will enable your garage door to receive the power it needs to open or close, even when the rest of the street is totally devoid of power. Most of these will automatically turn on in the event of a power outage, allowing you to enter the home from outside with a keypad or your garage door opener, but be sure to check before you install if this is a feature you desire.
For the latchkey kids of the modern day and age, this is also a valuable feature to install, as your child won’t need to worry about losing their key–as long as they remember the keypad number, they can get inside safely and conveniently. So, if these great assets are something you need, contact our expert team to begin the installation process.
