Unknown to many people, the garage door is one of the essential components of every home. It is more than the storage space that helps protect the vehicle and other moving machinery. It is the largest and heaviest moving door in every home and the most frequently used one. With insulated garage doors, you can reduce utility bills by limiting heat escape during winter and reducing the influx of heat in the summer. This makes the garage door a massive bonus to any house.
While garage doors are incredibly useful, many people trivialize the health hazard that a typical garage door poses. Countless people are injured yearly due to poor handling of the garage door. Reports from the US consumer product Safety reveal that more than 30,000 injuries are linked to garage doors every year. This makes it essential to be aware of the health risk that could come from a garage door and protect yourself and your household, especially kids and pets.
This comes down to treating your garage door like any other piece of heavy machinery to keep yourself safe. Here are essential garage door safety tips you should know.
Table of Contents
Don’t Stay Near a Moving Door.
This is an essential rule for everyone, kids, pets, and adults. It is a health hazard running under a moving door as you cannot predict the device’s failure. There is the possibility of falling or the safety feature malfunctioning, which could result in catastrophe. Even your pets should not be allowed to run under a moving door to avoid injury.
Besides, you need to make sure that your kids understand the hazard of avoiding a moving garage door which will be impossible if they see you do it many times. The garage door is hefty, so getting trapped under it can be disastrous.
Walking across a moving garage door could confuse the motion sensors and make it close when it’s supposed to open or vice versa. If you need to enter or exit the garage, make sure it extends fully before stepping out.
Know the Safety Principles of the Garage Doors
In a bid to mitigate injuries and accidents, manufacturers do include safety features in garage doors. This is common in modern garage doors, and you have to be familiar with such features. Every garage door is built differently, which comes down to understanding your automatic garage door parts.
For people not aware of the safety features of their garage door, the manual is an excellent place to check. You can also talk to the manufacturer to guide you on the safety principles of your garage door or provide you with a replacement manual. For people with old garage doors with safety features, the best bet is to order a new one. Also, if you are not comfortable with some of the safety features of your garage door, get in touch with a repairer to get the door in order.
Test the Safety Sensors Occasionally
If your garage door was made after 1991, there is a high probability there will be some safety features. Provided the sensor is in good order, the door will reverse if it touches anything. With this, there will not be an injury to anyone or animal who walks under the garage door while in motion with this feature.
As a house owner, you want to ensure that this feature is in top condition every time. Garage doors will need repair and service from time to time which makes it essential to be aware of the status of the safety sensors.
You do not need any unique technical expertise to access your garage door’s safety sensor. All you have to do is place a slight obstruction on the path of the garage door while you try to close it. The door should travel back up if the sensor is in order. Make sure to call a professional to check the door if it does not work. This is important to the safety of yourself and your entire household.
Keep Entry Passwords Private
A garage door keypad is a great feature, which allows easy entry and entry even in an emergency. It will come in handy if you misplace your keys and need to get inside your house urgently. Your entry passwords, however, should be kept as classified information.
Anyone not living under your roof does not need to know your password combination. Make sure to limit the number of people who know it because the less, the better. Besides, only share with older kids to prevent the possibility of kids turning it into a playing object.
Also, only share with kids old enough to understand the implication of such a combination getting into the wrong hands. They should know that besides the immediate family members, no one needs to know the password combination.
Avoid Leaving the Garage Door Ajar
Many homes are fond of keeping the garage door open just about a foot or two. This could be an option to keep the garage and the other part of the house cooler. Many people also do it to allow easy entry for their pets. This, however, is not a good safety practice as it comes with a series of risks.
Depending on your residence, it could provide the perfect access for wild animals and rodents. Imagine the amount of damage they could do and things they might eat, all in the name of looking for food and shelter. In addition, such a habit makes your home an easy target for burglars and thieves. This is unnecessary jeopardy of your life and property when a thief comes in who could rob you of significant valuables.
With this, make it a habit to keep your garage door permanently closed, especially when you are not near the garage.
Conclusion
Any heavy-moving object poses a significant health risk to kids and pets, including a garage door. However, your garage door does not have to be a health hazard to your household. With these tips, you can ensure your safety and that of your home as you use the garage door.
