Essential Garage Door Safety Tips
A garage is an essential feature in any home and provides a secure space to park your car. The garage door boosts the security and convenience of the garage. However, a garage door can be a security concern, especially if you have children in your home. Here are garage door safety tips that can help prevent damages, accidents, and injuries.
Store the Garage Door Opener in a Secure Place
Children are very curious and will always want to understand anything they see. If the children see that the garage door opener controls the garage door, they will want to explore and play with it. Unfortunately, the children can close the garage door in a manner that causes injuries to them. Always store the garage door opener in a location where the children cannot access it.
Check the Sensors
Many garage doors use sensors to close and open. The sensors are typically located at the lower section of the door and may have a tiny red light. If the sensors malfunction, the door won't operate properly. Therefore, always inspect the sensors once in a while to confirm that they are functioning properly.
Learn How to Manually Operate the Door
While smart security features enhance home security, most of them require power to operate. Malfunctions, storms, and power outages can cut power to your garage door. This is why you should know how to operate the door manually. Most garage doors come with an owner's manual that provides details on how to open and close the door manually.
Test Auto Reverse
Smart garage doors have an auto-reverse function that automatically reverses the door when it detects an object, such as a person. But the smart function can stop working and cause injuries. Regularly check the auto-reverse function to ensure it's working properly. For instance, you can place an object, such as a paper towel, on the door's path and see if the door will reverse itself.
If you haven't already invested in an auto reverse feature, consider doing so.
Prepare for Emergencies
If an injury occurs, you would need to open or close the garage door quickly. Be always prepared for any emergencies by knowing the location of the emergency release feature on the garage door. You can also have first aid kits in the garage door to quickly treat emergencies as you await medical personnel.
Teach Garage Door Safety
Many people, particularly young children, don't know the dangers of garage doors. Explain the garage door working mechanism to your children. Let the children know the various possibilities and dangers that may arise if they do certain things. For example, the children should know that placing their fingers between the door sections can be dangerous.
Switch the Power Off
If you are going to be away from your home for a long time, switch the power off. For example, you can unplug the opener units or use a security switch. The security switch includes a console that disables all remotes for a specified amount of time. This prevents anybody who wants to break into your home from opening the garage door.
Don't Share Entry Passcodes
A keypad is a wonderful feature that helps open the door during emergencies. For example, you might forget the keys to the house inside the home and decide to use the garage to open the door. However, don't share any of the passcodes with other people. Immediate family members who live nearby can have the passcode.
Also, teach your children not to share the passcode details with other people.
Buy High-Quality Doors
Once you purchase your garage door, Town & Country Door LLC can help with the installation. We also repair commercial and residential garages and entry doors. Contact us now for more information.
