Top 10 Garage Door Safety Tips

Follow these tips to keep your family and your property safe.

From the simple to the somewhat surprising, these 10 tips cover important things to remember for the safety and security of your garage door.

1. Know Where Your Kids & Pets Are.

   This is just common sense—never operate your garage door unless you are 100 percent sure it is safe to do so. This is especially important if you are trying to close the door, as a young child or a pet might accidentally get in the way and become injured.

2. Read Your Owner’s Manual.

   Though no one really likes to do this, reading the owner’s manual for your garage door opener is essential for safe and reliable operation.

3. Inspect Your Door Each Month.

   Once a month, make a visual inspection of your garage door. Take a close look at all moving parts such as springs, cables, hinges, and pulleys and make note of any visible wear, misalignment, or damage. If you see a problem, contact the pros at Dynamic Garage Door for assistance right away.

4. Test Safety Features.

   Your garage door opener has several important safety features that are designed to help prevent accidental injury or property damage. With some of these features, such as the photo eye sensors, a malfunction will be immediately obvious (your door won’t close). With others, you need to perform a monthly test to be certain the features are working properly. One test you can do yourself is checking the reversing mechanism. Place a low object like a 2×4 or a roll of paper towels in the path of the door, then press the opener remote. If the door does not immediately reverse after touching the object, you have a problem. Call Dynamic Garage Door for help.

5. Get Professional Repairs.

   Unless you are extremely experienced in garage door repair, attempting to fix your own garage door can be dangerous. This is especially true in the case of broken garage door springs, which are under extreme pressure and can cause severe lacerations if mishandled. Always leave this job to the pros at Dynamic Garage Door.

6. Consider a Pinch-Free Door.

   If you have small children, you may want to consider garage door designs that make it impossible for kids to pinch their fingers between the door panels. One example would be a one-piece swing-open carriage door, but you can also get roll-up designs with special pinch-free panels.

7. Avoid Leaving the Door Half Open.

   Sometimes people like to leave the garage door partway open to let pets in and out or for ventilation. This is actually not very safe because the door could fall.

8. Prepare for Vacation.

   Before going on vacation, secure your garage door by either shutting off the power to your garage door opener, or activating its vacation mode.

9. Don’t Use the Original Code.

   Almost all garage door openers have rolling codes these days, which makes it very hard for a potential intruder to capture the code and open the door. If your opener does not have this technology, be sure to change the code after purchase and at regular intervals.

10. Lock Your Inside Door.

    One final tip is to always keep the door connecting your garage to your home locked. This will provide another layer of protection in case your garage door opener gets stolen.