March 2, 2018

Show your children how to use a garage door safely

Garage doors are the primary entry point for many homes. Even if your family prefers the front door, everyone, from drivers to children, should be able to safely enter the garage.

Modern garage doors have effective safety features, but you should still show your children how to treat the door in the safest way possible.

Children in front of an opened garage door

Teach them how the door works

A garage door’s two biggest dangers are its weight and the tension of some of the parts. Make certain that your children understand that these features are what makes the door dangerous. Tell them that doors are very heavy (at least 125 lb or 60 kg), and that the springs are strong enough to make the door open easily and quickly.

When explaining this, you should remind yourself to check the door’s balance. Garage doors should only be between 8‑10 lb (3.5‑4.5 kg) when opened by hand.

Teach your kids about the most dangerous parts of the door

Three dangerous parts to show your children are the springs, cables, and automatic reversal system.

The spring system usually consists of two different types of springs. Coil‑shaped springs, called torsion springs, are visible over the head of the door, and extension springs are above the horizontal tracks. Explain to your children that these springs are tense and carry the door’s weight, so they are extremely dangerous and should never be touched, even when the door is not in use.

Lifting cables are connected to the bottom of the door. They coil into a steel drum as the door opens. Like the springs, they are extremely taut and meant to carry the weight of the door when it is in use. The lifting cable should not be touched at any time or for any reason.

The photo‑eye automatic reversal system is made up of two small boxes located next to the vertical track about 4 inches above the ground on each side of the door. These two boxes shoot a beam of light at one another. If this “beam connection” is broken, the door will reserve when closing. The system itself is not dangerous, but, if it is bumped or the alignment is not perfect, it will not function. Not only should the kids not touch these boxes, they should also tell you if they accidently bump the sensors.

Garage door instructions for your children

First of all, if you have older children, realize that they can help keep an eye on their younger siblings. Tell the youngsters to listen to their older brothers or sisters about garage door safety. This way, you will have others to make certain that the garage rules are always being followed.

Second, don’t forget about security. If you have older children who are allowed to operate the door, tell them to never share the security access code with anyone. Once they have told someone, even a trusted friend, you no longer have control over who hears about the code.

One more thing about exterior keypad access: keep it out of reach of the younger kids. Attach the keypad at least five feet off the ground so that children cannot reach it. Likewise, keep any remote openers out of reach of children.

Some doors are still opened manually. It is important to tell kids to never open the door by grasping the sections and to never, ever put their fingers in any joints. This would be good advice for ALL garage doors, as it could lead to serious injury if the door opens unexpectedly.

Another injury from unexpected opening could occur when kids climb on the door. This is especially tempting when they see the struts that support wider garage doors. These supports, which are located inside the door, might look like a ladder to them. However, they risk serious injury if they ever climb on the door, and they could break the door as well.

Dealing with the access code

Remind your older children to never share the access code for the exterior keypad with anyone. They may think it is alright to share the code with a good friend. However, doing this means that you have lost control over who else has access to the code. You should change the code if your child tells anyone else about it.

Need a tune‑up or even a new door?

Then contact us at 905-569-9133. We will offer to send you a quotation by email or, if you prefer, visit your home to inspect the door and offer advice about repairs, maintenance and replacement doors.

If you decide to change your garage door, you can start by looking at our Design Centre or browsing our image gallery.

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