Garage doors, especially automatic ones, have been an incredible help to homeowners across the country for many years. Yet these large mechanisms can often pose a serious threat to those who are unaware, especially for small children who’s playfulness and curiosity can land them in a little bit of trouble from time to time. So if you have a garage door and children crawling and playing around, then it is important to educate them on some of their dangers. It is wise to try and ensure that they don’t hang around the doors, especially during their operation, but you won’t always be around to watch them, so it is important that they know a little bit about their dangers.
Keep Clear of the Tracks
The garage door tracks have a lot of moving parts within that move over each other to assist the door’s motion. These moving parts can pose a danger, however, especially for children. It is important that little ones understand that they should keep their appendages and digits away from the tracks since these moving parts can snag at anything that touches them when the door is being used. This, as you can imagine can cause a lot of harm, pain and trouble if it happens. Help your children understand that the inner workings of the track can be dangerous to fiddle with, and that even if they don’t end up hurting themselves, they could also damage the door and track as well.
The Safety Sensors
For some reason it seems to be an enjoyable childish game to run underneath the garage door as it is closing. Tempting fate for some reason can be fun for kids. For reasons such as this, it is absolutely vital that you make sure that your door’s safety sensors are in good working order. The safety sensor should stop the motion of the door whenever the beam is interrupted (as someone or something passes through it) and it should then reverse and open again. If the sensors are not working correctly, the door will not know to stop when someone is under it, which could possibly lead to very serious injuries.
The Safety Cable
Much of the bulk of your door is supported by two springs, one on either side. These are very strong but are liable to fail at some point, breaking and failing to support the weight of the door when it happens. To combat this, doors come with a safety cable that is designed to back up the weight support should the springs fail. It is a good idea, especially if you have little ones around, to make sure that this cable is always in good condition. If the springs give in, the safety cable will do its job and stop the door from crashing down.
Keep your children safe by keeping an eye out on your garage door, and making sure all the safety measures are taken. If you need any assistance, you can always count on us at Garage Door Repair Eden Prairie to be there for you.
