Your garage door is the largest piece of moving equipment in your house. With a properly designed system, regular maintenance, and safety instructions to family members, your garage door and opener can provide years of safe, secure, and trouble-free operation.
It may seem easier to just try something yourself rather than call a local garage door company, but better safe than sorry! A broken garage door is not only extremely inconvenient, it leaves your home unprotected and can be costly to fix.
Garage Door Safety & Care
- If the spring is broken, you should never try to operate the door. This can cause severe damage to the top section because with a broken spring, the opener is trying to pull up dead weight of more than 200 pounds.
- If the garage door is off track and you try to move it by hand or with the garage door opener, you can potentially cause damage to the various parts that are necessary for the operation of the door. The most cost-effective thing to do would be to contact a professional technician to identify the cause of the problem and prevent further damage.
- Never try to wind a garage door spring with screwdrivers. Many people have gotten injured because they do not realize how much tension is in the spring. You need the correct tool and a professional to wind it.
- Never take the screws out of the bottom fixtures that have cables attached to them. These fixtures are what pick the garage door up, and they are loaded with spring tension. This is yet another task to save for the professionals.
- Never try to deactivate your garage door opener’s photo eyes. These are there to stop the door if something goes underneath it as a safety precaution. The circuitry of the garage door opener will not allow the door to work without these photo eyes.
- If your garage door comes down on something (a car bumper, bicycle, ladder, garbage can, etc.), you should be very careful opening it on the next cycle. There is a high possibility it may have a loose cable. If you are not sure if it is broken, call for service. More damage can be done when you try to operate the door after this type of event.
In addition to following garage door safety tips, you need to take proper maintenance measures—and this includes professional inspection.
Garage Door Inspection
We encourage you to have your garage door system professionally inspected to ensure everything is working the way it’s supposed to. Your garage door inspection should include:
- Careful inspection of the entire counterbalance spring system, including springs, cables, and attached hardware
- Careful inspection of all hardware attachments, including hinges, top brackets, and rollers
- Lubrication of the above appropriate parts
- Testing of the reversing mechanism on your garage door opener
- Careful inspection of the opener, including necessary adjustments to limit switches and lubrication of appropriate parts
Avoid Breakdowns & Repairs with Proper Garage Door Safety & Maintenance
By following garage door safety tips and getting a garage door inspection regularly, you may be able to avoid repair altogether! If you do need a repair, however, we offer 24-hour, emergency garage door service.
Please call or contact us if you would like an inspection of your garage door system—or if you need additional garage door safety tips or have questions about garage safety and care.