Keeping Your Kids Safe Near Garage Doors

Garage doors are one of the most dangerous components of a home. There are, on average, 20,000 to 30,000 non-fatal, garage related injuries every year. In terms of fatal injuries, there are several dozen, and most of those deaths are children. This begs the question: How can we prevent garage door related injuries? More notably, how can we prevent our children from suffering the same fate as the children who lost their lives?  This post is an answer to that question, and the team at Lodi will guide you on keeping your kids safe near garage doors.

Tip #1: Don’t Let Your Children Play With the Door

This may seem obvious, but children need to understand the risk of playing around garage doors. Be sure to communicate with the about that danger they put themselves in when roughhousing in and around garage. Prohibit reckless behaviors, such as:

• Running under a closing door,
• Throwing toys and other objects in the garage, OR
• touching a moving door.

Children (and adults alike), should NEVER play around garage doors.

Tip #2: Check Your Sensors and Auto-Reverse Features

One of the best ways to prevent injuries is by doing regular testing on your sensors and auto-reverse features. We conduct this testing by:

• Checking light indicators, dirty lenses, and frayed wires,
• Conducting a cardboard box test,
• Work with a technician to troubleshoot and see if your sensor needs repair.

By regularly testing your sensors, you can prevent possible injuries, even if you aren’t physically present.

Tip #3: Perform Regular Maintenance on Your Garage Door

Our final suggestion is to ensure that you’re performing regular maintenance on your garage door. We have a helpful link here to give you a comprehensive list of what needs to be regularly worked on, but if you’re short on time:

• Inspect your garage door,
• Perform safety tests, (like the cardboard box test);
• Lubricate your door, clean it, and replace the bulbs and batteries in your opener.

In the link, the author made note of working on the spring, but we strictly prohibit doing this by yourself. Our last tip is to hire a professional when the required work poses a threat to your health, or when you don’t know exactly what you’re doing. Give us a call at (602)-269-0888, and we can handle all of your garage door needs. Until next time.