Garage Door Opener Safety Tips

Do It Yourself? Installing a garage door opener is generally more accessible and safer than installing a garage door. However, improper installation can create a hazardous situation. DASMA recommends that a trained door system technician install your opener. If you do it yourself, follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully.

Not in Sight? Not Safe! When closing your automatic garage door with a push button or a remote control transmitter, you should always watch the door until it completely closes. Reason: Ensure no person or animal gets caught under a closing door. Take a few seconds to be safe.

Do You Have a Reinforcement Bracket? Some do-it-yourselfers neglect to install an opener reinforcement bracket on the top section of the door. Failure to do so can damage your door. Do-it-yourselfers should check the installation manual for specific instructions.

Get a More Powerful Opener? If your door feels heavy or requires two hands to open, it is probably out of balance and needs adjustment. Various problems can cause this, and you could get hurt if you try to fix it yourself. Call a locally trained door systems technician to diagnose the problem and offer a solution. The answer is not a more powerful garage door opener. Openers are designed to open doors that are correctly balanced.

Sensitivity Training. Garage door openers are designed to reverse direction when a descending garage door meets an obstruction. If your door does not reverse readily after contacting an obstruction, the opener’s sensitivity adjustment may be set improperly. This can create a dangerous situation. See your owner’s manual for how to adjust your opener’s sensitivity. DASMA recommends that a trained door systems technician perform this work.

Safety Reverse. Since 1993, all openers manufactured in the U.S. must include a second safety reversing feature, such as photoelectric eyes. These are installed near the floor. Once the invisible beam is broken, the door reverses automatically. If your opener lacks a similar safety reversing feature, it’s time to get a new opener.

The Six-Inch Rule. The photo eyes mentioned above should not be installed higher than six inches above the garage floor. If the eyes are installed higher, a person or pet could get under the beam and not be detected by the photo eyes.

The Five-Foot Rule. The wall push button for your garage door opener should be mounted at least five feet above the floor, out of the reach of children. Running under a closing door can be a deadly game. Teach your children never to play with opening and closing the door.

Do You Know Where Your Remote Controls Are? For the above reasons, keep the remote controls for your openers so children cannot play with them. Warn children of the dangers of playing with the garage door. For security reasons, be sure to keep your remote controls locked up. If you park a car outside your garage, be sure to lock your car so that potential burglars cannot access your remote control and gain easy access to your garage.

Rolling Codes. Some thieves can “record” your transmitter’s signal. Later, after you’re gone, they replay that signal and open your door. However, if your transmitter (the remote control) has rolling code technology, the code changes after every use. This renders the thieves’ controls useless. Contact your garage door opener manufacturer or local dealer for more information.