5 Garage Dangers to Guard Against

Does your garage host hidden dangers? Look for these 5 potential issues.

Some people consider the garage part of the home, to be cleaned and cared for just like more lived-in spaces like bedrooms and family rooms. Others consider the garage a sort of glorified shed or storage space that doesn’t need to be kept up like the rest of the home. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, you do need to keep your garage in safe condition by guarding against the following 5 hazards.

Trip & Fall Hazards

Without a place for everything and everything in its place, a garage can quickly become a repository of extra stuff that can present trip & fall hazards to the unwary. You can help protect against this by keeping the garage organized and decluttered, with any electric cords neatly wound up and tucked away and items like shovels and ladders hung up instead of leaning against walls. You can also consider setting the light on your garage door opener to the maximum time so that it stays on plenty long enough for you to get from your car to your door safely.

Fire Hazards

Chemicals like fertilizer, pesticides, paint thinner, gasoline, and oil can present serious fire risks when kept in the garage. Make sure that you keep any and all flammable products in a well-ventilated area and in their original packaging. Weed through them every few years and dispose of anything you haven’t been using or that has expired. You should also be sure to keep a Class B or C fire extinguisher in the garage specifically to fight fires involving flammable liquids or electrical equipment.

Carbon Monoxide

Running your car inside the garage, even just to warm it up, will release carbon monoxide that may seep into your home. If you run any kind of gas-powered equipment in your garage at all, it would be wise in invest in carbon monoxide detectors to alert you of the presence of this colorless, odorless, and deadly gas.

Security Breaches

If you have an old garage door opener, it could be an easy access point for thieves. They could capture the code if you have an old opener that doesn’t use modern rolling code encryption technology, or they might simply force the door open if it is old, flimsy, or damaged. The best way to protect against these types of security breaches is by upgrading to a new, solid garage door and a quality garage door opener.

Garage Door Malfunctions

All new garage doors come with certain safety features to help reduce the risk of someone getting hurt by the door. For example, there are photo eye sensors that detect the presence of objects in the path of the door and automatically stop lowering it. There are also auto-reverse mechanisms that keep the door from crushing any object it touches on the way down. Though these safety features are automatic, they do need to be tested and adjusted periodically to keep them in good condition. Don’t put your property and your family at risk by postponing your garage door maintenance!