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Aging in Place? 5 Ways to Make Your Garage Safer

Married Couple – Plano, TX – Plano Overhead Garage DoorGarages can be dangerous places. With power tools in the walkways, dark shadows in the corners, and narrow spaces between the car and the walls, the garage is a place where many accidents can happen. If you’re a senior hoping to age in place, upgrading your garage is an excellent way to avoid accidents and stay safe. Here’s what you need to know about making your garage a senior-friendly part of your home.

The Importance of Safety Sensors in Plano, TX

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Why are safety sensors required?

Many homeowners underestimate the power and weight of garage doors. Because the spring holds the majority of its weight, people tend to forget that a garage door is a very heavy and potentially dangerous piece of equipment. Even the most basic garage door could easily cause serious injury or death without proper precautions. Many children, pets, and unsuspecting adults have been seriously injured because of faulty or nonexistent garage door safety sensors. According to their website, between 1982 and 1992, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received reports of 54 children between the ages of 2 and 14 who died or became seriously injured after becoming entrapped under doors with automatic garage door openers.

Who requires safety sensors?

Safety sensors are a relatively new requirement. Before 1982 there were virtually no requirements for garage door safety; however, after that time, some basic standards were put in place that only addressed a small amount of the safety issues. Over the years, garage door safety has become more and more of a priority. Safety sensors were made a requirement by the CPSC for all garage door openers manufactured on or after January 1, 1993. The entrapment protection requirements are part of a Congressional mandate in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 1990. The CPSC recommends that consumers with automatic garage door openers test the openers according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, to make sure they have a reversing feature.

Infrared Safety Sensors for Garage Door OpenerHow do safety sensors work?

Garage door safety sensors are infrared safety beams (ISB’s) that use infrared light to detect any obstruction under your garage door. These sensors send a signal to your opener unit that something is in the way of the door.  These little square boxes at the bottom of your garage door must be aligned in order for your door to close. Is nothing under your door but it is still reversing? Check to be sure that nothing is blocking the sensors, and try loosening the wing nuts to adjust them.  Sweep the area around the sensors and make sure that nothing on the door or tracks might be obstructing the path of the beam.  Both safety sensors should be lit up a solid color, not flickering or off.  If both lights are lit up on either side, your opener might need to have its’ force settings or travel limits adjusted on the unit.  This is something that a professional should perform.  Routine maintenance can help prevent sensors from coming misaligned due to vibration and loose tracks or hardware on the garage door.

Do you have any questions about or problems with your sensors? As with all garage door/openers, we recommend service once a year. Schedule a tune-up today to ensure that your door and all safety features are working properly. Call our office at 972-422-1695.

 

By Nick McGregor, General Manager of Plano Overhead Garage Door

Power Outages in Plano, TX

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We have all felt the pains of experiencing the harsh inconveniences that non-automatic garage doors give us. Especially in bad weather, wishing that all we would need is a simple click of a button to open up our garage door. On the other hand, automatic garage doors will likely never go back to a manually opening door. It makes us appreciate the conveniences that an automatic garage door offers, when on the flip-side when we may lose power, it’s highly important to understand some simple tips on how to open a garage door manually in case you need to get out for work or some other emergency.

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Going into manual mode

Essentially, all garage door openers have what’s called a bypass switch for certain situations such as power outages, or even if a remote opener dies. On almost every door there will be a long rope that hangs that has a red handle on the end. This is called the emergency release cord. This manual release cord disengages the trolley from the attachment point to the rail. Pulling this will now put the garage into manual mode so if the door is up, it might come crashing down. For safety precautions, always disengage to trigger the handle when the door is closed.

Staying in manual mode

The emergency release cord controls the spring attachment in the trolley. If the opener motor is malfunctioning or the power will be out for a long period of time, then you may have to stay in manual mode. Then you want to continually open the garage door in the manual state, it’s always important to pull the red rope down and towards the back of the garage so you can avoid it getting caught in the tracks.

Going back to automatic mode

You will likely want to take full advantage of the conveniences of an automatic door after the power restores in your home. To re-engage the trolley attachment, pull down on the cord towards the garage opening to keep the lever from engaging. This time you will have to pull up on the door until it snaps into place and you’re back in the automatic mode.

Taking precautions

If you find that there may be damage to a cable or the door opens unevenly, make sure to contact us here at Plano Overhead Garage Door to have one of our Garage Door Experts out to your area in no time. Springs and other garage features can be dangerous to work with and doing a DIY project could result in irreversible damage. Our Technicians have the tools and experience at their disposal to repair your garage door opener safely and efficiently.

 

 

By Nick McGregor, General Manager of Plano Overhead Garage Door

972-422-1695

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Plano, Texas 75074

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