Residential Garage Door Safety Areas, Part 2

In part one of this two-part blog, we went over some of the simpler areas of residential garage door safety when it comes to day-to-day operations. We looked at simple child safety areas, as well as some basics about not interfering with the garage in any way as it moves.

At Crawford Door Sales, everything from our wood garage doors to our steel, glass and other options is built with safety and simplicity in mind. Our pros will be happy to explain any simple garage door safety areas to you if you haven’t dealt with a particular material or component before. Today, we’ll get a bit more specific on garage door safety and go over a few of the less common safety areas – but those that still need your basic attention to keep you, your family and even the garage door itself safe.

Electricity

It’s important to remember that the garage door is operated using electricity, which should be handled with care. Even if you’re just performing a routine inspection or a small tweak, you have to be very careful around any electrical elements – these may not seem like much to worry about, but they can quickly become a danger if they’re mishandled, and a life-threatening one in the worst cases. Make sure you know where the electrical components are in your garage door if you’re doing any work on it.

Fingers and Hands

This one comes back to common sense from part one of this blog, but you’d be surprised how often people think there’s no problem with messing with the garage door while it moves. In particular, some homeowners try to adjust or tweak a door section with their fingers or hands while it moves – and in the worst cases, they end up losing the finger. It’s simply never worth it to mess around with the door while it moves, especially considering you can do the same thing 10 seconds later when it’s done opening or closing.

Repairing Springs and Cables

While there may be some areas of garage door maintenance a handy DIY homeowner can do on their own, we generally do not recommend attempting to repair your springs or cables without professional assistance. These items use high degrees of tension, and inexperienced hands working on them can very easily be injured.

Regular Maintenance

One of the best ways to ensure your garage door regularly operates safely is to keep up on its maintenance. We recommend at least annual inspections and maintenance from pros in the field.

Impact Damage

In cases where your garage door sustains damage, such as if someone backs into it with their car, we recommend having the damage inspected by a pro – even if it doesn’t appear to have visibly damaged the door. Some garage door operating systems can be misaligned through this sort of impact even if there’s no visible damage, creating future danger every time the garage is opened or closed.

For more on staying safe around your garage door, or to learn about any of our residential or commercial garage door services, speak to the staff at Crawford Door Sales today.