Garage Door Safety Tips

A garage door is one of the largest moving objects in your home. It is typically used every day. Giving you good reason to keep it in proper working order.

Overhead Door Company of Waterbury™ is dedicated to providing safe, reliable products that last. We would like to offer the following safety tips for keeping your garage doors and openers in safe, proper working order.

Garage Door Safety Tips

• Mount the garage door opener control button out of the reach of small children, at least five feet from the floor, where you have a clear view of the door.
• Do not let children play with garage door remote controls.
• Explain that the remote controls are not toys.
• Set a good example for children and discuss garage door safety with them.
• Explain how to operate the door safely.
• Test your garage door opener’s reversing mechanism monthly by placing a 2 x 4 board in the door’s path. If the door does not reverse after contacting the object, call Overhead Door Company of Waterbury™ at 860-274-3332 for a professional repair.
• Know how to use your garage door opener’s emergency release feature. Your owner’s manual provides instructions.
• Visually inspect your garage door each month. Look at the garage door’s springs, cables, rollers and pulleys for signs of wear. If any of these components appear damaged, contact Overhead Door Company of Waterbury™ for inspection or repair.
• Do not attempt to repair cables or springs. These parts are under high tension and require special tools for adjustment. Improper handling or disconnection can cause breakage and serious injury.
• To avoid damage to your door or opener, make sure you disable or remove any door locks, ropes, or cables prior to operating your opener.
• Use the release mechanism on the garage door opener to manually open the door using its interior or exterior lift handles. The door should lift smoothly with little resistance. It should stay open around 3-4 feet above the floor.
• If it is difficult to perform this task, your door may be out of balance, causing premature wear. Call Overhead Door Company of Waterbury™ at 860-274-3332 for an adjustment.
• To prevent accidents when a garage door closes, invest in a garage door opener that features photoelectric eye safety beams mounted a few inches off the floor. They send an invisible beam across the door’s path.
• If the invisible beam breaks, the garage door automatically reverses to its fully open position. The invisible beam provides added safety to the auto reverse mechanism. The door does not have to contact an object to reverse. The Safe-T-Beam® is a standard feature on the entire line of Overhead Door garage door openers.