How to Childproof Your Garage Door

In some homes, the garage is seemingly a playground for children – from hide-and-seek to crawling, running, and numerous indoor games. You will always find children in the garage having fun after school hours or during weekends. 

Unfortunately, some of the activities may lead them to sustaining injuries and in worse scenarios, fatal accidents.

If you have children or grandchildren, childproofing your garage should be one of the top-most considerations. Here are some important tips that will help you to effectively childproof your door.

Test Your Garage Door Opener Frequently

You must regularly test your garage door’s safety features to ensure they are working correctly. There are built-in safety mechanisms in most modern garage doors. This includes lift response, automatic reverse, resistance to closing using the photoelectric sensor line, etc. But in some cases, these safety features may fail and lead to an accident.

The fastest way to check if these features are working is to use a bucket flipped upside down. You need to put the bucket along the partway of the door and press the close button. If the sensors are still functional, the door will stop and reopen. That shows that the door will automatically reverse if a child is below its photoelectric sensor line.

Regularly Maintain the Garage Door

You don’t have to wait for your garage door to start making loud or obnoxious noise before calling for repairs. You need to be observant of the moving parts of the door. If there is anything fishy, then you have to repair or replace worn out parts of the door.

However, if it's an old door, you will keep noticing some of these red flags - misaligned tracks, warped door, difficulty in closing, and random closing/opening. In such a situation, repairs will be a waste of time and resources, just replace it with a contemporary door. Another critical factor to consider is the technician handling your garage door maintenance. Always use experienced experts from a reputable company like Bob's Advance Garage Doors.

Raise the Opener Above the Reach of Kids

The opening and closing of the contemporary garage door is fascinating to kids. So, when they are left alone, children love playing with the door opener. If the height of the wall-mounted garage door opener is low and can be reached by your kids, you need to raise it higher.

Chemicals and Toxic Liquids Should Be Tightly Sealed 

Most times, because of the vast nature of our garage, it is used to store items like cleaning solutions, antifreeze, pest control poisons, gasoline, motor oil, paint thinner, etc. We should ensure that such toxic liquids are placed above the reach of our kids and that they are tightly sealed.

All Power Tools Should Be Locked Up

There should be a cupboard in your garage to store and lock up all power tools. Emphasis must be placed on the tools with sharp or pointed edges.

Educate Your Kids about the Dangers of Playing Around Garage Doors

Kids are fascinated by the automatic door process. Therefore, you need to let them know the dangers involved with the doors. Warn them seriously about the garage door openers.

Let a Licensed Garage Door Technician Install, Repair, and Maintain Your Door

To ensure the safety of your loved ones and adequate functionality of the doors, consult a professional for installation. Let the experienced garage door technicians from Bob's Advance Garage Doors install and maintain your doors. We are ready to handle just about any type of door.