Weighing in at about 200 pounds, your garage door is easily the largest moving object in your house. Keeping it moving smoothly is second only to keeping it safe. Unfortunately, garage door safety is the last thing you’re thinking about—until there’s a problem.
Garage Door Safety Steps
Since 1982 Consumer Product Safety Commission regulations require that garage doors that come in contact with an object must reverse. But, when’s the last time you checked to make sure yours was operating correctly?
It’s a simple enough to test for garage door safety: Place a two-inch block of wood in your open garage door. Press the remote to close it. If it doesn’t reverse when it hits the block, you need service.
Sensing Garage Door Safety
While garage door safety components protect everyone, they’re mostly aimed keeping you children out of harm’s way. That’s one reason it’s recommended you keep the key pad at least five feet from the floor and a safe distance from the door where you can safely see it moving.
Mounted about five inches off the floor on either side of your door jamb, the photoelectric eye sends a beam across the doorway. If the beam is broken, your door automatically opens. If you door won’t close, even when you press the button, chances are your sensors are out of alignment. If you can’t easily get them aligned yourself, call for service. Never disconnect your sensors.
In certain circumstances, sunlight can confuse the sensors; the sun’s brightness can wash out the beam preventing your door from closing. Adding a simple cone of foil or a cardboard shield to block sunlight remedies this problem.
Keep those moving parts safe
From rollers to hinges, tracks and springs, there are more moving parts to your garage door than you probably realize. That’s why the best way to practice Garage Door Safety is to schedule an annual inspection by a professional from The Overhead Door Company of Houston. Better safe than stuck with a broken door.
