Garage Door Safety Tips Every Oklahoma Family Should Know

Your garage door is the largest moving object in your home. At 200-400 pounds, it has the potential to cause serious injury if safety precautions aren’t followed. Here’s what every Oklahoma family needs to know.

Understanding Garage Door Safety Features

Modern garage doors are required to have several safety features. Make sure yours are working:

Photo Eye Sensors

Those small devices at the bottom of your door tracks are photo eye sensors. They create an invisible beam across the door opening. If anything breaks the beam while the door is closing, it automatically reverses.

Monthly Test:

1. Open your garage door completely
2. Press the close button
3. Wave a broom handle through the sensor beam as the door descends
4. The door should immediately stop and reverse

If it doesn’t reverse, stop using the door and call for service immediately.

Auto-Reverse Feature

In addition to photo eyes, your opener should have a mechanical auto-reverse. If the door contacts an object, it should reverse direction.

Monthly Test:

1. Place a 2x4 flat on the ground where the door closes
2. Press close
3. When the door contacts the wood, it should reverse within 2 seconds

Emergency Release

The red cord hanging from your opener is the emergency release. It allows you to disconnect the door from the opener to operate it manually during power outages.

Important: Know how to use it before you need it. Practice disconnecting and reconnecting the door.

Keeping Children Safe

Garage doors and children require extra vigilance:

Establish Clear Rules

• The garage door is not a toy
• Never run under a moving door
• Never play with remotes or wall buttons
• Stay away from the door when it’s moving

Secure Access

• Keep remotes out of children’s reach
• Mount wall buttons at least 5 feet high
• Consider a keypad lock for the interior door

Supervise

• Never allow children in the garage while the door is moving
• Ensure children are clear before closing the door
• Watch until the door is fully closed before driving away

Vehicle Safety

Accidents between vehicles and garage doors are more common than you might think:

• Wait for full opening before driving through
• Check mirrors when backing out with the door moving
• Never race the door - it’s not worth the risk
• Use the door timer to ensure it closes after you leave

Seasonal Safety for Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s weather creates unique safety considerations:

Storm Season (March - June)

• Know how to manually open your door if power fails
• Keep the garage floor clear for quick vehicle shelter
• Inspect door and tracks after severe storms

Summer Heat

• Check sensor alignment (heat can warp mounting brackets)
• Ensure the opener has proper ventilation
• Don’t leave children or pets in a closed garage

Winter Ice

• Clear ice from the door bottom before opening
• Listen for unusual sounds that indicate frozen components
• Keep rock salt away from metal parts

Annual Professional Inspection

Once a year, have a professional technician:

• Inspect all hardware and moving parts
• Test safety features under controlled conditions
• Adjust spring tension if needed
• Lubricate components
• Check for wear and potential failures

Common Safety Mistakes to Avoid

• Propping the door open with objects - Use the opener’s stop feature instead
• Ignoring strange sounds - They often indicate developing problems
• Delaying repairs - A malfunctioning door is an unsafe door
• DIY spring repairs - Always call a professional for spring work

What to Do If Safety Features Fail

If your garage door’s safety features aren’t working:

1. Stop using the automatic opener
2. Operate the door manually until repairs are made
3. Call for service - This is an urgent repair
4. Keep everyone clear of the door

We’re Here to Help

At Garage Door Service 365, your family’s safety is our priority. If you have any concerns about your garage door’s safety features, contact us for a professional inspection.

Call (405) 555-0365 for same-day safety inspections.