Safety Tips For National Garage Door Safety Month

More than 70% of homeowners enter and exit their home through the garage door, relying on it as the new front door. And warm weather brings even more traffic in the garage.

Since it is now National Garage Door Safety month we thought we would share a “door to floor” garage door safety checklist. While garage door safety is important all year round, make this an opportunity to complete an inspection.

Maintenance

To keep the garage door properly maintained and functioning safely, be sure to keep all moving parts of the door clean and lubricated, including the steel rollers.

Balance

To check balance, start with the door closed and pull the opener release mechanism so you can maneuver the door by hand. If the door is balanced (properly spring-loaded and running freely on its tracks), you should be able to lift the door smoothly without much effort and it should stay open about three or four feet above the floor.

Safety Reverse

Since 1993, all automatic openers manufactured for the U.S. must include a safety reversing feature such as infrared sensors or “photo eyes.” These sensors are installed near the floor on either side of the garage door opening. Once the invisible laser beam between the two sensors is broken by an obstruction, the door reverses automatically. If your opener lacks a similar safety reversing feature, it’s time to get a new opener.

The Six-In Rule

The photo eyes mentioned above should not be installed higher than six inches above the garage floor. If the eyes are installed higher, a person or pet could get under the beam and not be detected by the photo eyes.

Sensitive Technology

Test your door’s sensitivity this month by placing a two- inch thick piece of wood or a roll of paper towels in the path of the door before closing it. If the garage door does not automatically reverse and retract back to the open position, then the opener needs to be adjusted or purchase a newer model that comes with photo eyes. LiftMaster dealers are available nationwide to help bring your door up to speed and code.

Prepare For Weather

Be prepared as summer heat and storms turns to summer outages. Once power is lost to the home, an automatic garage door opener will also be impacted. Ensure your opener is equipped with a Battery Backup system which continues to operate LiftMaster openers for an additional 20 up and down cycles. So, even during unforeseen outages, homeowners have peace-of-mind that their main entranceway to the home reliably opens and closes.