Your garage door is an essential part of your home security system. It provides an extra layer of defense and protection against intruders and natural elements. Like all technology, however, even garage doors are vulnerable to malfunctions.
That’s why it has important safety features to prevent those malfunctions from occurring. Of course, in order to get the most out of these garage door safety features, you need to know how to maintain them properly. To learn more, check out these garage door safety features and their maintenance requirements.
5 Garage Door Safety Features & Their Maintenance
Without these garage door safety features, you would constantly be at the mercy of an unpredictable feature of your home. Here is how to maintain the five most essential garage door safety features:
1. Safety Sensors
One of the most important garage door safety features to maintain is the safety sensors. This feature is found at the bottom half of your garage door and uses photo-eyes to detect obstructions in the path of the door. If the sensors pick up on these interferences, the door will not move.
The best way to maintain this feature is to keep the photo-eyes of the safety sensors clean and in alignment with each other. Just periodically check the lenses for debris or fog and wipe them clean with a rag or cloth. You also need to ensure that photo-eyes have the same line of sight.
2. Auto-Reversal Feature
The auto-reversal feature prevents garage door-related accidents by using the information from the safety sensors to reverse into an open position. You can ensure this feature is working by placing an object in the path of the safety sensors, closing the garage door, and seeing if the door reverses course once it senses the obstruction. If the auto-reversal feature doesn’t seem to be working, call a garage door technician for further assistance.
3. Springs
The springs are a vital safety feature of your garage door because they ensure the door remains balanced during operation. Without springs, your garage door would easily fall off-track, leading to damage and injuries. Maintaining your springs involves lubricating them at least twice a year with silicone spray and ensuring that debris is removed. Additionally, you also want to have a balance check performed on your garage door once a year, usually by a professional technician.
4. Pinch-Resistant Panels
While older garage doors have spaces between panels where people have had their fingers pinched, most modern ones are built to be pinch-resistant. The panels are manufactured to roll over each other to reduce the probability of pinching and other hand and finger injuries. As a result, you are able to care for your garage door panels without worrying as much about accidentally injuring yourself.
5. Emergency Manual Release
Finally, when your electric garage door opener is out of commission, your emergency manual release cord will be the best option. To ensure that this backup option is available, you want to ensure it is reset in the correct position after every use. You also want to ensure that nothing is in the path of the cord so it can easily be used.
Keep Your Garage Door Safety Features In Shape With Best Garage Door Repair!
Knowing how to maintain these five garage door safety features will allow you to use your garage door with little to no issues. From safety sensors to the emergency manual release cord, these components make your garage door safe for operation. If you need additional help maintaining these parts, you can reach out to a professional garage door technician. Luckily, you have access to Best Garage Door Repair, the best service in Houston, to address your garage door needs. Contact us today, and we will keep your safety features in check.