06.01.2020
JUNE is Garage Door Safety Month
June is designated Garage Door Safety Month by the International Door Association (IDA). Your garage door is the largest moving piece of equipment in your home. We’d like to bring awareness to the dangers garage doors and openers may pose if not kept in safe working order. Here are some tips to help keep your family and home safe.
5 Garage Door Safety Tips
- Inspect and Test Your Garage Door Monthly
A good preventative practice is to visually inspect your garage door monthly for any signs of wear and tear. Examine the garage door’s rollers, springs, cables, and pulleys. If you do notice damage, do not attempt to repair cables or springs yourself. These parts are tightly wound and under high tension. If they break free and strike someone, it can cause serious injuries. Always play it safe and contact us to inspect or repair the damaged parts.
You should also test the garage door opener’s reversing mechanism monthly by placing a 2x4 board in the door’s path. If the door does not reverse after contacting the board, call us for repair. - Watch Fingers Between Door Sections
If you have a garage door that opens manually, make sure to never place fingers between door sections. Consider adding pinch-resistant door panels to help prevent accidents. - Do Not Allow Children to Play With Remote Controls
Seeing as the garage door is often the heaviest and largest moving object in the home, it is important to keep the garage door remote controls out of the hands of children. The best practice is to mount the garage door opener control button at least five feet from the floor. At this height, it will be inaccessible to children and adults will have a clear view of the door. - Don’t Leave the Garage Door Opener In the Car
One of the most commons ways criminals break into someone’s home is by stealing the garage door remote from the car. Help prevent this by taking it with you whenever you leave your vehicle. - Invest in Smart Garage Door Technology
OHD Anywhere® is our application that allows homeowners to monitor and control the garage doors remotely via your smart phone. You can check if the garage door is open, closed, or if someone is attempting to operate the garage door without permission. It even offers the added security benefit of keeping a log of all uses of the garage door with dates and times. With OHD Anywhere®, garage doors will never accidentally be left open because you can check the status through your smartphone app and safely close the door – from anywhere!
Properly Ventilate Your Garage
Proper ventilation in your garage can be a matter of life and death. Do not seal off your garage as you would the living areas of your home. Building codes require ventilation in the garage to allow for venting of poisonous gasses and chemicals. Combustible material used and stored in a sealed off place can be explosive.
Top Common Garage Door Injuries
- Doors falling down. Never run under a moving door.
- DIYers injured while doing repairs or cleaning. Hire a qualified expert and stay out of harm’s way.
- Springs break, causing bodily injury. Hire a qualified expert and stay out of harm’s way.
To assure garage door safety year-round, an annual garage door tune-up by a trained technician is the best way to avoid sudden failures that can cause injury. During annual maintenance, a trained technician will confirm the safe and efficient operations of all electrical and moving parts on the door and the opener. Bolts will be tightened or replaced. Springs will be adjusted and rollers, pulleys, and cables will be lubricated.