Garage Door Safety Tips
Most people think very little about their garage doors on a day to day basis. And why should they? The garage door is meant to be seen and not heard. It is intended to keep you and your family safe by sealing off your house while also serving as an entrance.
However, there is a side to garage doors that most people don’t realize is there—accidents. More than 20,000 people are injured in overhead door accidents in the U.S. every year. With so many high tension and moving parts to a garage door, the ways they can hurt a person are numerous. The good news is that if you follow basic safety precautions, you will not be a part of that nasty statistic that we discussed!
Below, you will find our expert’s top tips on how you can practice garage door safety in your own home.
Kids Come First
Ensure that anything related to your garage door is out of the reach of children – this includes openers, keypads, buttons, etc.
The garage door is a complex mechanism made up of many parts. Small hands in the wrong spot at the wrong time can become severely injured while also messing with the function on the door. Hinges, tracks, and rollers are especially important to avoid. If an object or device has something to do with opening or closing your garage door, make sure that kids cannot get ahold of it.
You’ll also want to ensure that children are nowhere near the garage door when opening or closing. Sensors are there to stop the door mid-motion, however, there are no fail-safes for the physical door itself. If a child sticks their fingers in parts of the door while the door is in motion, serious injury can occur.
Do Not Try to Hang From the Door!
Regardless of if you are a kid, or an adult, do not grab onto the door as it opens. Any substantial weight will strain the motor, potentially causing it to break.
You can also throw the wheels and tracks out of alignment, causing significant damage to your property. These actions can also result in severe injury to yourself.
Get Professional Help
When it comes to repairing the function of your door, consulting with an expert is the best garage door safety tip.
If you’re experiencing a problem with your garage door, we do not recommend trying to fix it yourself. Although a fix might seem simple, overhead door mechanisms have many moving parts that can cause serious injury in just a matter of seconds. For example, torsion springs hold enough force to kill a person on impact if they are released when their tension is at its highest. Professionals are trained to repair these high-risk mechanisms in a safe way.
Although you may save a few bucks fixing your garage door yourself, we ask that you ask yourself one simple question: are cost savings worth more than your safety or potentially your life? We certainly think the answer to that question is no!
Call The Overhead Door Company™!
At Overhead Door Company of Southeast Missouri™, we have years of experience fixing garage doors at fair price points. Our trained technicians know how to repair your door with the latest equipment and techniques safely.
As experts on everything garage door, our techs can give you even more detailed safety tips about what to do and not do around your garage door. If you are worried about younger family members interacting with your garage door in an unsafe way, we have other safety features to offer and install as well!
Give us a call today, and ensure your whole family is safe!