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A Word on Safety
Is your garage door as safe as it should be? Maybe you've
never thought about that question, but it's one every homeowner with a garage door should
ask. Whether it's operated manually or with a garage door opener, the largest moving
object on your home needs to be safe for you, your kids or grandkids, your pets, and even
your cars. If your garage door is not equipped with the most up-to-date safety features,
it might be time to think about whether a safer garage door would benefit you and your
family.
How can you make sure that your garage door is the safest
door available?
The first step to your
safer garage environment is to ensure you have a garage door system with properly working
safety features. The garage door is composed of three main areas:
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One |
The first is the
garage door sections themselves, which should be designed so fingers are pushed out of
harm's way as the sections come together during closing. |
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Two |
The second is the
counterbalance spring system that provides the power to lift the door. It should be
properly balanced to lift the door with minimal effort and be safely enclosed in a
protective metal casing. |
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Three |
The third is the
garage door opener, which should reverse automatically if a person or object goes
underneath the door as it is closing. |
When shopping for a garage door, be sure to check the safety
features designed into each of the three above areas. The Wayne-Dalton doors sold by
Action Door address each of the safety issues in a carefully designed manner.
| The second
step is to conduct periodic testing of the opener to make sure all the
safety features are still working as they should. |
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Do This Once Every Month |
| Place a one inch thick block of wood underneath
the door and close it. It should reverse upon coming in contact with the wood. If it
doesn't, the opener should be disconnected immediately and repaired or replaced by a
company with trained professionals. |
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Do This Once Every Year |
| To test your door's counterbalance, first
disconnect the opener from the door. Open the door slowly. It should move upward with
minimal effort on your part. Now let the door come down to about four feet off the ground.
Make sure nothing is in the door's path, then let go of the door. If it drops or sinks to
the ground, it is not counterbalanced properly. A properly counterbalanced door should
move very little from this position, if at all. You should never attempt to adjust the
counterbalance springs yourself. Action Door has trained professionals to do this type of
dangerous service work. |
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The third step is to conduct annual testing of the
counterbalance spring to be sure the opener isn't being placed under too heavy a load. |
A recent article in PEDIATRICS magazine also lists other
safety suggestions for homeowners:
- Activation buttons should be placed where children cannot
access them, at least six feet above the floor, or kept in locked cars.
- Adults and children should never walk beneath a closing door.
- After activating an opener, one should not drive away until
the door is completely closed.
- Parents should consider retrofitting their openers with keypad
switches, which discourage use by younger children.
- The force adjustment of the opener should be set to take the
least amount of force necessary to trigger the reversal mechanism.
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