Garage Door Safety Tips | ej-fransen.com

Keeping Your Garage Door Safe
As a homeowner, keeping your garage door safe should be a a priority, especially when you have kids or pets around the house. Even a standard garage door weighs at least a couple of hundred pounds ? more than enough weight to cause serious injury or death if it happens to fall or close on someone. Fortunately, a garage door is one of the less-complex bits of equipment in an average home and can be expected to last for at least 20 years under normal use. However, the moving parts like the springs and rollers are prone to wearing out over time and can pose a potential safety hazard if not maintained regularly. Bear in mind that while some garage door maintenance can be performed by a homeowner, it is not recommended that you attempt any major repairs ? spring replacements in particular can be extremely hazardous for an untrained professional due to the extreme tension contained in the springs.

• Inspect the garage door every 3 months. Check all moving parts including springs, cables and rollers for any signs of wear such as cracking, fraying or chipping. Verify that any bolts, screws or other attachments are tightened.

• Once a month, lubricate all moving parts with a product specifically designed for lubricating garage doors (e.g. WD-40 Garage Door Lubricant). This will help reduce the normal wear-and-tear and prolong the life of the parts.

• Depending on the type of garage door you have, it may either have a single torsion spring mounted above the garage door or an extension spring mounted on each side of the garage door. If you have extension springs, check that they have a safety cable installed ? this is simply a cable that runs through the middle of the spring. This will help catch any pieces of broken spring in the event a spring breaks. The spring may break apart violently, showering the garage with pieces of debris that could potentially injure someone or damage your property.

• With the garage door completely closed, trigger the emergency release on your garage door opener. This will disconnect the garage door from the opener so you can open it by hand. Make sure that no one is near the door, then open it by hand. The door should remain open no matter what position it is in, but if it will not stay open or even slams shut, the springs are most likely beginning to wear out and will need to be replaced in order to ensure safe operation of the garage door. The springs are designed to balance the weight of the garage door and make it easy to move.

• For homeowners with sectional garage doors (where the garage door consists of several sections hinged together) ? do not use the joints between each section as a handle to pull the garage door down. Hundreds of finger injuries occur every year due to this ? the garage door joints close up and can severely pinch fingers. Some garage doors are designed with safety joints to prevent this from happening, but always keep your fingers clear of the joints when closing your garage door by hand.

Keeping Your Garage Door Opener Safe
Along with the garage door, the garage door opener is also a potential safety hazard if not maintained properly. Fortunately, a correctly-operating garage door opener will significantly reduce any risk of injury but always use caution around a moving garage door. Some maintenance can be performed by a homeowner but for any significant issues, we always recommend consulting a qualified professional.

• For safety in homes with small children, it is always recommended that the garage door opener?s wall switch be placed at least 5 feet off the ground.

• With the garage door open, activate the garage door opener and place your hand on the bottom edge of the garage door as if trying to keep it open. The door should reverse immediately when it detects an obstruction. If it does not ? check the closing force on the garage door opener.

• With a roll of paper towels placed in the door opening, try closing the garage door. When the garage door touches the paper towels, it should immediately reverse. Check the closing force on the garage door opener.

• While the garage door is closing, pass an object across the garage door opening. The invisible beam projected by the safety sensors on either side of the garage door should be broken, causing the garage door to immediately reverse. If it does not, the safety sensors may be dirty ? they can be wiped down with a soft clean cloth to remove any dirt.

Justin Krutz blogs about a number of home improvement related topics for GSM Garage Doors, a Chula Vista garage door repair company which offers a variety of services to homeowners.

Source: http://ej-fransen.com/garage-door-safety-tips/

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