Unless you have an elephant for a pet, the garage door is the largest moving edifice in your home. Every year, 40—50,000 children injure themselves due to electrically-operated garage doors. And that’s only the children.
The trick to living in a home that isn’t perpetually threatened by a non-sentient garage door lies in the maintenance. Treat your garage door right, keep the children away, and follow the right safety measures to stay out of trouble.
If You Have a Password for It, Keep it Secret
This should go without saying, but still: keep the password secret. The keyboard on the garage door opener shouldn’t be a free pass for everyone. In fact, many robbers get inside your house through the garage door—mostly because you’ve been reckless with the password. Easiest thing to do? Use a smartphone app to manage and remember the password for you.
Keep the Tracks Clear
Keeping the tracks clear all year round, regardless of the season, is one way of ensuring they aren’t getting clogged. No clogging means less risk of jammed gates. Also, keep an eye out for vertical parallel alignment, since misalignment also leads to issues.
Keep an Eye on the Hardware
Your garage door must have gone up and come down hundreds of times in a year. Such extensive use can easily lead to wear and tear, not to mention loosening the bolts. Among the things that you should be checking are the brackets between the door and the wall.
Additionally, check the fastener that anchors the garage door opener and the framing units. Should you find any loose nuts, tighten them up.
Don’t Let Your Kids Ride it
A tomato is not a vegetable, a dragon is not a slave, and a garage door is not a carnival ride. Many people allow their children to ride the door as it pulls up, and this is an exceedingly rash thing to do.
Keep Checking the Auto Reverse
In 1991, the CPSC—Consumer Product Safety Commission—ordained that non-reversing automatic garage doors are a hazard. All garage doors made since then have a a built-in automatic reverse system—something you should check if you’re getting a new door installed.
A simple way of doing this is to p9lace a toilet paper roll underneath the garage door and close it. As soon as the door touches the roll, it should reverse. If it doesn’t, call a pro.
Looking for a Pro in Nashville?
Reach out to EasyFix Garage Door & Gate Service Inc. We offer gate and garage door services in Nashville and surrounding areas. If you have a problem with your automatic garage door and need a professional repairman, connect with us today
