How to Perform a Safety Check on Your Automatic Garage Door

The garage door is undoubtedly one of the largest moving fixtures in the home. With this comes an increased risk of accidents and injuries as one operates the door. Whether you have children and pets in your home, it is important to perform regular safety checks on your garage door. This will ensure that the door does not pose a safety risk to its users. Here you will learn some of the critical checks that you should perform to maintain a safe and functional garage door.

Test the garage door opener

A garage door opener facilitates the opening and closing of the garage door. It is operated using a remote control or a keypad depending on the configuration of the automatic garage door. A garage door opener works in such a way that it should reverse its motion if it encounters a barrier on its way. If it doesn't, it can pose a safety risk to pets and children who may be standing in its way.

Follow these steps to test your garage door opener to make sure that it prevents injuries and accidents during the operation of the door.

• Open the garage door using the remote control or keypad system.
• Place a piece of wood in the path of the garage door.
• Close the door using the opener and watch how it reacts to the obstacle in its way.

The garage door should reverse upon sensing the obstacle on its path. If the door keeps on moving to close, it means that opener is not functioning as expected. You should replace it with a new and safer one to prevent accidents and injuries.

Check the balance of the door

If you have a roller garage door, it is critical to ensure that it maintains its balance during operation. If the door rolls down on its own, it can easily injure anyone who may be standing in its way. Follow these steps to check the balance of the garage door.

• Disconnect the opener so that you can operate the door manually. 
• Lower the garage door manually and stop it in the middle of its path.

The door should remain fixed at the position you have stopped it. If it rolls back up or continues rolling down, it could be faulty and can pose serious safety risks during operation. The door's springs may have experienced extreme wear; hence, they are unable to hold the door in place. The springs should be replaced to restore the balance of the door.

In addition to performing these tests, make sure that you undertake a professional tune-up for your garage door after every few months so that any faulty or worn parts can be replaced.