Garage Door Safety / Dangers
Most people typically don’t give it a second thought, but your garage door has the potential to be one of the most dangerous objects in your home. While an overhead door is designed to be extremely safe and dependable, there are some safety issues that North Atlanta GA homeowners must be aware of.
The garage-door control switch should be mounted in a spot where you have a clear view of the door and at least five feet off the floor, so it is out of the reach of small children.
Discuss garage-door safety with your children. Explain how the door operates and teach them the garage-door control is not a toy, and never allow them to play with the remote.
Learn how to operate the garage door’s emergency release mechanism; consult your owner’s manual for instruction, if needed. Test the manual opening function of the door by using the interior or exterior handles. The door should open smoothly with minimal resistance and should remain open, when you let go, at around three to four foot level off the floor. If the door does not open easily it may be out of balance. This should be professionally checked to prevent premature wear.
The garage door should receive a thorough visual examination every month. This includes inspecting the cables, rollers, springs and pulleys for any signs of wear. Unless you have professional experience you should not attempt to repair springs or cables yourself, as these components are under extremely high tension and special tools are needed for servicing. Inappropriate adjustment can cause damage or serious injury.
This is especially true of the torsion springs and the garage-door bottom brackets. Torsion springs are wound under extreme pressure and are what assisting in raising and lowering the garage door. The springs are under constant tension and may result serious injury if not properly handled. As such, any work on torsion springs is best left to a professional. The bottom brackets on conventional garage door are also under great tension, from the springs, and can are capable of causing very serious injury if either accidentally or deliberately or loosened by someone who is inexperienced in garage door maintenance. Never try to operate a garage door that is jammed or has a stuck or broken spring.
Test the automatic garage-door reversing mechanism once a month by placing a board under the door. The door should automatically reverse upon contacting the board, if it does not call for professional repair.
To safeguard against potential accidents, when the garage door is closing, a door opener that has a photoelectric eye-safety beam feature, mounted a few inches off the floor and projects an invisible beam across the path of the door, is a sound investment. The invisible photoelectric beam offers an extra layer of safety to the door’s auto reverse mechanism, as the door does not need to come into contact with an object for it to reverse. If the photoelectric beam is interrupted the garage door will instantly reverse and return to the fully-open position. The photoelectric eye-safety beam feature is standard on the some overhead garage doors and openers.
Many people get into the unsafe habit of just pushing the control button and walking away from the door before it is fully closed. Always take the few extra seconds to make certain the garage door has completely closed before leaving the yard or going into the house.
All Four Seasons is the expert in all things garage doors in North Atlanta GA. Call us today for an audit of your garage door- (770) 517-7078 or click on us: All Four Seasons Garage Doors North Atlanta GA