There are reports every year in the United States of people suffering serious injury or death from being hit by or trapped underneath a garage door. The safety and regular maintenance of a garage door are often times overlooked in many households. This is unfortunate because over 30,000 people are injured in accidents involving garage doors every year. Some of those injuries result in death. Installation and maintenance should be conducted by a professional every year. To ensure garage door safety, trouble-free operation of your garage door and automatic opener, Action Garage Door provides the following expert services:
- adjustments for your safety system
- new installs
- regular maintenance
- expert repair
First, be sure to read your owner’s manual for specific information about how it is maintained. Next, take time to look over our garage door safety recommendations, below.
Garage Door Safety Tips
- Openers are not toys. Do not let children play with or use the transmitters or remote controls. Place and store transmitters and remotes out of childrens reach.
- Never stand or walk under a moving door. Do not let children or adults try to “beat the door.” The “game” of trying to run under the garage door before it closes can result in serious injury or death.
- Know how to use the emergency release in case someone gets pinned.
- Mount the push button wall control where it cannot be reached by children (at least five feet from the floor) and away from all moving parts.
- Always mount and use the opener control button where you can clearly see the moving garage door. When using the push-button or transmitter, keep the door in sight until it completely stops moving.
- Teach your children about garage door and opener safety. Teach them never to play under or near an open garage door. Explain the danger of being trapped under the door.
- Teach adults and children to keep hands and fingers clear of section joints, hinges, track, springs and other parts. Contact with a moving door or its hardware could cause serious injury. These injuries can also happen with garage doors that don’t have automatic openers.
- Take a few minutes to inspect and test your complete system. Make monthly inspection and testing a regular routine. Consult owner’s manuals for additional recommended maintenance for your specific model.
How to Perform a Garage Door Safety Test
Make sure your garage door opener has a reversing feature. If a reversing feature is not present, it should be replaced. All openers manufactured after January 1, 1993, are required by federal law to have advanced safety features that comply with the latest U.L. 325 standards. Contact your manufacturer or installer at Action for additional information.
Test the reversing feature every month using these steps:
- Test the garage door balance as explained. If the door is properly balanced, then proceed.
- With the door fully open, place a 1-1/2-inch piece of wood (a two-by-four-inch block laid flat) on the floor in the center of the door.
- Push the transmitter or wall button to close the door. The door must reverse when it strikes the wood.
- Note that the bottom part of one-piece garage doors must be rigid so that the door will not close without reversing.
If the door does not reverse, have it repaired or replaced by a qualified technician at Action. We can inspect it to determine whether it needs to be adjusted, repaired or replaced.
Force Setting Test
Test the force setting of your garage door opener by holding the bottom of the door as it closes. If it does not reverse easily, the force may be excessive and need adjusting. Always test the reversing feature after any adjustment.
Visual Inspection
Look over the springs, cables, rollers, pulleys, and other door hardware for signs of wear or loud noises and rough operation during use. Our technicians can make repairs when there are suspected problems.
WARNING: Springs, cables, brackets and other hardware attached to the springs are under high tension. Only qualified persons with the proper tools should adjust them. Do not attempt to repair or adjust torsion springs yourself.
A restraining cable or other device should be installed on the extension spring (the spring along the side of the garage door) to help contain the spring if it breaks. Never remove, adjust or loosen the screws on the bottom brackets of the door. These brackets are connected to the spring by the lift cable and are under extreme tension.
Lubrication
Given the changes in temperature, it is important to schedule tune ups between each season. Therefore make sure to lubricate all moving parts. However, do not lubricate plastic parts such as plastic rollers or plastic idler bearings. Consult the owner’s manual for manufacturer’s recommendations.
Garage Door Balance
Periodically test the balance of your garage door. Start with the door closed and follow these easy steps:
- If you have a garage door opener, use the release mechanism so you can operate the door by hand when doing this test.
- You should be able to lift it smoothly with little resistance.
- Once lifted, it should stay open at approximately three to four feet above the floor.
- If it does not stay open, it needs to be adjusted by a qualified garage door technician.
Additional Safety Devices
Many openers can be equipped with additional safety devices. Consider adding a photo eye or edge sensor as an extra measure of safety to protect against people or animals becoming trapped underneath the garage door.
Keep in mind, however, adding more safety devices will not make an outdated old garage door opener meet the current U.L. safety standards. Make sure that any additional safety devices, such as photo eyes or edge sensors, are properly installed and adjusted (see your owners various manuals).
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Contact us online or call the location nearest you.
In Dallas-Fort Worth and surrounding Texas cities, call 972-254-4040 or 817-633-3119.
In Austin TX area cities, call 512-447-3667.
In Houston and surrounding communities, call 713-222-1500 | 281-752-7100.