The Importance of Garage Door Safety
Posted Monday, June 20th, 2016
Did you know that most garage doors weigh nearly 200 pounds? Some can even weigh up to 400 pounds. Add extreme tension and you have a lethal weapon if any part of the operation is broken. At Cressy Door and Fireplace, we cannot express enough how important Garage Door Safety is for you and your family.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission board reports over 30,000 individual injuries every year due to a broken or faulty garage door system. This statistic only includes injuries that require medical attention. Many unreported minor and serious injuries happen too. We hope this gets you evaluating your current garage door system and its safety today.
Hire a Trained and Certified Technician for Maintenance
It is important that you hire an educated, trained and skilled technician to install or repair your garage door system. Proper installation and regular maintenance (at least one time per year) is the best way to assure your garage door stays in good shape and is safe for you and your family. The best advice we give our valued customers is to perform an at-home visual inspection at least once per month.
At-home Visual Inspection Tips
Visual
Look carefully at the springs, cables, rollers, pulleys and any other hardware for signs of wear and tear. If anything looks broken, rusty or simply worn down, give us a call. Do not ever try to repair springs or cables by yourself. These parts of the garage door system are under extreme tension and without proper training can cause serious injury to the individual working on them. Never remove, adjust or loosen screws at the bottom of a door. And be sure you have a safety cable on all extension springs.
Lubrication
Like any mechanical device, your garage door needs proper lubrication. Use a light coating of silicon-based spray on the rollers, bearings and garage door hinges. Be sure to check the springs as well. If they are not wet or lightly lubricated spray them too. With a chain-drive system, check to make sure the chain is greased.
Door Balance
To check the balance on your garage door, start with the garage door closed. Release the mechanism that allows the door to open automatically. You will want to test the garage door manually. You should be able to lift the garage door smoothly and without much resistance. If it is in proper balance, it will stay open three to four feet above the floor. If it doesn’t, it needs an adjustment.
Routine Safety Tests
As a responsible home homeowner, it is important to set time aside each month to perform a few safety tests. Review your door opener owner’s manual and perform the tests indicated. If you no longer have access to the manual, simply look up the opener on line by typing the model or serial number, brand and the word manual into your search bar.
Federal law requires garage door openers to have a reverse feature. Assure your garage door has one and that it works. If you don’t, or it doesn’t work, you need to have the door replaced immediately.
Checking the Garage Door Opener
Test the balance of the door first. (See instruction above) Then follow these easy steps.
Step 1: With the door fully open; put a roll of paper towels on the floor in the center.
Step 2: Push the button on the hand held or wall remote to close the door. The door should reverse when it touches the paper towels.
Step 3: If the door doesn’t reverse, give us a call and one of our certified technicians will be happy to perform maintenance or replace your garage door system.
Step 4: Test the force setting of your garage door opener. Hold the bottom of the garage door as it closes. If it doesn’t reverse easily, the force may be too much and may need adjustment. Check the owner’s manual for instruction on how to adjust the force.
Be assured, the team at Cressy Door and Fireplace is here to help whenever you need us. Our emergency services are available 7 days a week 365 days a year. Regular service is available Monday through Friday 7am – 4pm. Stay safe, and we look forward to serving you soon.
