Keep Your Garage Door Safe

Most homes, these days, come equipped with a functional automatic garage door and opener. It is utilized numerous times throughout the course of a single day. What many may not realize, though, is the incidence of accidents involving these devices, most likely the heaviest moving object in a home. There are several things that homeowners can do to keep their garage doors safe.

Teach the Children Well

Many accidents involve children and, as such, we must teach them about the dangers related to what they may believe is toy. You should model good behavior when using the device. Don’t let your children play with the remote controls either. Explain that, like the door itself, the remote control is not a toy. One of the easiest things you can do to keep your kids safe is to install the control button inside of your garage out of any child’s reach and within easy view.

Check Balancing

Periodically, have a balance test on your door. You can do that by pulling the manual release in your garage. It usually has a red handle. You can pull that to allow for manual control of the garage door. Lift it and check to make sure that it opens smoothly. Let it go and ensure that it does not fall to the floor and close immediately. It should remain about three to four feet above the floor; otherwise you have a balancing problem that will need to be solved.

Periodic Inspection and Maintenance

Many accidents occur due to a problem that could have been fixed earlier. Walk into your garage at least once a month or so and just visually inspect your entire operation. If something does not look or sound like it working correctly it might be time to get it checked out.