Garage doors keep your car and any belongings you store in them safe. However, have you thought of your personal safety around your garage door? Despite the best efforts of the industry, garage door accidents do happen but are easily preventable with some forethought.
1) Child proof your garage doors
Whether you have a young family, or children visiting your home at any point, your garage doors may seem like an appealing toy to them. If not fitted properly by professionals with the accredited safety measures, garage doors can pose a risk. The first step is to never let children play with the controls. In the event that they try to anyway, you can quickly child proof with the simple step of ensuring that your garage door opener is out of reach. At the same time show them how the garage doors work so they know to keep a safe distance when opening and closing.
2) Know how they operate
Your garage doors will come with a user manual, which will also outline safety features. Take some time to read the manual and familiarise yourself with how things work, especially the emergency safety release feature. That means that in the unlikely event of something bad happening you can act quickly and decisively.
3) Maintain and protect
It pays to keep an eye on your garage doors. A regular monthly visual inspection will quickly alert you if there are any potential problems or sharp edges which could cause injury. Check the gears, cables and rails and look for any signs of wear and tear. The reverse function is the most important feature to test. Place a light object in the way of the door and see if it will still reverse after contact with the object. If your garage door is very old and does not possess the auto reverse function, consider buying a new one as it’s a key safety feature.
4) Be safe not sorry
It sounds obvious but never place your fingers between sections of the doors. NEVER race the garage door to try and get in or out while it is closing. Keep the passwords to any remote controls secret and you will remove temptation.
5) Before you go away
Consider unplugging your door and check that it has not been left partially open. There are security systems which can connect with apps and allow you to monitor the door easily. Also be aware that if you leave your remote control door opener in the car, and then valet park the car, you are trusting that person with access to your home potentially.
6) Trust professionals to look after your garage door
While we encourage you to keep an eye on your doors, we don’t encourage you to try and DIY with any issues – indeed doing so could invalidate your warranty. Up and Over Doors has 40 years’ experience in the industry and you can call us at any time regarding the maintenance of existing doors, or installing new ones.Contact us on 0808 302 8089.
Image By TerriersFan at en.wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17912170
