June is National Garage Door Safety Month! You may not know this, but the garage door is the most used entry point for the home. On average, the garage door closes and opens at least 4 times a day. More than 70% of homeowners use their garage door as the main entrance into their home. With that much traffic in and out the garage door, it is important to ensure your garage door is working correctly at all times.
The use of our garage doors have become such a daily part of our family lives that we often don’t take the time to stop and see if the basic components of the garage door are functioning correctly. Checking up on your garage door not only keeps your family safe, it will also keep your door safe and operating for years to come.
Is Your Garage Door Safe?
In recognition of National Garage Door Month, the professionals here at Parker Doors & More will like to share some tips with you on maintaining the security and safety of your garage door. Below is a list of common garage door accidents and how to avoid them. Garage Door Safety is a must:
Do-It-Yourselfers
Some of us are more handy than others and would rather work on their own garage door compared to seeking help. This is an affordable option for quick maintenance and repairs, but you also increase the chances of receiving an injury if you are not familiar with garage doors.
If you are still motivated to do the repair on your own, be sure to study the instruction manual for your garage. There are over 1,500 injuries a year from homeowners trying to fix their garage door. Contact a professional if you have any questions or if you are not sure on the proper procedures when repairing your garage door.
Kids Playing With Doors
This is very common, especially during the summer when the school is out. Little ones love racing under the door as it opens and closes. They also like testing how long they can maintain their balance on the bottom door panel as the door opens. Approximately 100 children are injured each year playing with garage doors.
The best way to prevent this is by simply educating the children that live in the home to not treat the garage door as a toy. Practice garage door safety with your young ones. Parker Doors & More suggest that you keep small children away from automatic garage doors and garage remotes at all times.
Continue Use Of A Broken Garage Door
You will be surprised by the number of households who continue to use their broken garage door. Whether it is a broken panel, bad sensors or a problem with the garage door opener, we always recommend that you repair the issue as soon as possible to avoid injury. Hundreds of Americans are injured every year by broken garage doors.
It is a good idea to visually checkout your garage door from time to time. Be sure that the mechanics and the moving parts of the garage door look in place. We recommend having a professional perform routine tune ups to avoid serious repairs and injuries.
Avoid Racing The Door
We have all have had a time when we realize we left something in the house as we are backing out of the garage. Even though modern garage doors have sensors as a safety feature to avoid accidents. Over 130 people injure themselves, damage their homes, damage their garage door or damage their vehicle each year while trying to race the door.
The best way to avoid injury is patience. You may have to wait a few moments as the door reopens, but you will avoid injury and damage to your home and/or car.
Trapped Fingers
Before attempting any ‘Do-It-Yourself’ repairs, make sure that the power is disconnected. Even once the power is disconnected, the garage door can still be very dangerous and should be handled with care. Nearly 200 people hurt themselves every year. Fingers can easily get caught between the rollers, cables, tracks and springs.
Children and adults should always be very careful. Garage door accidents can lead to severe injury or even amputation in some cases.
Broken Glass
If your garage door is a contemporary glass-based design or if you have glass windows on your garage door, then you will have to deal with broken glass at some point. It is important that you pay attention to cracked and broken windows to avoid serious injuries or damage to the tires on your vehicle.
Although there is not much you can do to prevent glass from breaking, try to take extra precaution while cleaning the mess. Sweep the area two or three time to make sure there aren’t any glass shards being left behind.
Falling Garage Doors
Once a garage door has been damaged, or if the door has been improperly maintained, there is a good chance that a garage door panel, or the whole garage door itself can fall and cause serious harm to yourself, your car or your house. Maintaining your garage door is the only way to avoid major malfunctions. We recommend doing seasonal check-ups on your garage door. Make sure the bolts and screws are tightened and that the hinges, rollers and tracks are in proper working order.
Summer Safety
With June marking the beginning of summer vacation, garage door professionals thought it will be a good idea to use June as National Garage Door Safety month. We increase our garage door use in the summer storing garden supplies, sporting equipment, kids bicycles and cars. It is the perfect time to pay a little more attention to the functionality of your garage door.
Garage Door Service With Parker Doors
Parker Doors & More offers a variety of services to keep your garage door safe and working properly. We are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, There is no job too big or too small. If you are in need of a repair or a tune up, call 602-870-9848 or contact us online. Ask about our June Tune Up Special!
