Garage Door Safety Checklist for Garage Door Safety Month

Most homeowners take the safety of their garage door for granted. It has always operated smoothly so they do not think about checking for issues that could impede the safety of the largest moving object in your home. Even if the door opens and closes without a fault, there could be many hard-to-see issues that will cause a safety risk or eventual break down the road. For Garage Door Safety Month, check our garage door safety checklist to ensure your garage is moving properly.

Using your eyes is the safest and simplest way to find glaring problems with the operation of your garage door system. Besides the super obvious distress items, like cracks or holes in the door, you should also take a look at the hardware pieces that help the door function. If garage door springs, rollers, cables, pulleys, and other hardware look worn out or in distress, it is important to call a professional garage door technician to look at the items and decide if any need to be replaced.

The most common injury sustained by garage doors is pinching, lacerations, and crushing in the section joints. Often these injuries occur to the hands and fingers because people are trying to fix the garage door themselves. Injuries also occur when placing hands too close to the joints of the garage door when the door is in motion. Be sure to keep your body parts clear of tracks, springs, hinges, and other moving parts of the system to avoid injury.

Garage door operators look like toys to be played with due to their lights and buttons. Not only does repeatedly pressing the button on an operator wear down the system over time, but it also is a safety risk for young children. If they are playing with the operator, chances are they are too close to the moving garage door. Teach your kids that the garage door operator is not a toy and mount the operator high on the wall out of their reach.

Every month you should check that the safety reverse mechanism on your garage door is operating correctly. Try putting different sizes cardboard boxes, one smaller than the sensor and one larger, underneath the garage door and attempt to close it. The garage door should reverse well before hitting the object to be functioning properly. If you do not have a reverse mechanism, contact a door technician today to install one. Safety sensors are important for the safety of people and property in the space.

Another monthly test that should be performed is the door balance test. Be cautious while performing this test that you do not drop the door down if the door balance or force setting is off. To perform this test, disconnect the operator for safety. Once disconnected, try to lift the door manually to see if it lifts with little resistance. After you lift the door and release your grip, the door should remain open on its own. If it does not remain open, call a technician. If it does remain open, take a step back and look at the bottom of the door. The bottom of the door should be a straight line and, if one end is higher than the other, the balance is off.

It is important to have the force setting tested by a garage door professional. To test the force setting, a professional will hold the bottom of the door as it closes to see if the force is excessive. From there, the technician will make adjustments to the door system calibration. If, when performing the balance test, the garage door does not stay up or has resistance, close the door carefully and call a technician to repair the force setting.

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