While your garage door serves as the focal point of your home, a convenient point of entry and exit, and protects your vehicles and other equipment, it also has a pretty big job to do: keep you safe. Sadly, malfunctioning doors are all too common. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 30,000 injuries happen every year due to malfunctioning garage doors. Between 1982 and 1990, there were 46 deaths in relation to such occurrences, after which time the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 1990 required all residential garage door operators to meet strict entrapment protection standards.
One of those safety precautions demands that automatic garage door systems must now have safety reversing or automatic shut-off systems. However, despite all these regulations, standards and emerging technology, homeowners still have to employ common sense when operating their garage doors
That means regularly maintaining the door itself as well as any openers, sensors and accessories to ensure proper operation. Routine maintenance and precautionary measures can help prevent serious injury or death – not to mention costly property damage.
Safety First
It’s important to leave all major repairs, inspections, installations and service checks to the professionals, but there are some things you can do on your own to make sure your garage door is safe for pets, children, adults and cars. Make sure you:
- Keep the remote control out of reach of kids.
- Understand how to use your garage door’s emergency release feature.
- Visually inspect your garage door every month, specifically the springs, cables, pulleys, and the door.
- Test the reverse mechanism. You can do this by placing a wooden board or roll of paper towels underneath the door. If the door does not immediately go back up after hitting the object, call M&M immediately.
- Explain the dangers of garage doors with your children. Make sure they keep fingers and toys away from the garage door.
- Never leave your garage door partly open. The next time you press the opener, it may continue its path downward and trap objects beneath. This also poses a security risk.
- Unplug the garage door opener unit or install a vacation lock security switch if you are going away on a trip.
- Don’t leave the garage door opener in your car or hand it off to a valet parking attendant.
- Don’t remove parts, repair anything or make adjustments by yourself. Always call a professional for these jobs.
Contact M&M Garage Doors
The garage door technicians at M&M Garage Doors put safety at the forefront of all we do. Call us right away for any repairs that need immediate attention, or for regular inspections, troubleshooting, repair, maintenance and parts replacement. Contact us at 586-610-5434 today!