Garages are fantastic for a huge amount of different reasons- storage, playing, home projects, studios, guest rooms, and more. But they can also be pretty big safety and security risks, by virtue of the largeness of a garage door. Here's a quick-reference guide to how to make sure everything in your garage is safe and secure.
1. Do not let small children play with the remote control for the garage door opener, and don't let them near the door as it's shutting and opening. Even though most garage doors now have safety features to prevent crushings, it's still not a good idea.
2. Make sue you're familiar with the door's emergency release feature. Check your owner's manual if you're not sure.
3. Inspect your garage door every month, making sure there's nothing wrong with the rollers, cables, springs, and pulleys. If there's something wrong, call in garage door service.
4. Test the door's reversing mechanism by sticking a broom under it just as it's closing.
5. Do not leave your door partially open. This can compromise your home's safety and 'confuse' the door the next time you use it.
6. If your garage door opener is an older model and doesn't use rolling-code technologies to protect your safety, make sure to change the original, standard access code 9check the owners manual) so code-grabbers can't get in.
7. Don't leave your door open when you're not home, and when you're away for extended periods of time, lock the door with an additional outside lock.