How To Make Sure Your Garage Door Is Operating Safely and Properly.
Paul Accardo, Manager, Marketing Communications for LiftMaster® joined us last week to talk about garage door safety and how important it is to make certain your garage door is operating safely.
Garage Door Safety
Millions of garage doors across the country lack the latest safety features or may not be operating properly. As we begin preparing for spring, there is no better time to make sure that the largest moving object in the home, the garage door, is as safe as possible.
In 1993, legislation was passed requiring all new garage door openers to possess added safety features. The law mandated that all garage door openers be manufactured and sold with an external protection system known as infrared sensors or “photo eyes.”
These sensors are installed near the floor on either side of the garage door opener. If the invisible laser beam between the two sensors is broken by an obstruction (such as an object, or person) the door reverses automatically. If your garage door opener lacks this safety feature, it’s time to replace it.
Garage door openers manufactured prior to 1993 came equipped with force-sending safety systems that would only reverse the door after having made contact with the object in the door’s path. The majority of these older units are not equipped with “photo eyes,” which means they will only reverse AFTER making contact with the obstruction, potentially causing damage or injury. Due to the long lifespan of garage door openers, one of these older units could still be lurking in your garage. To make sure this isn’t the case, you should perform a safety check on a monthly basis.
Don’t Chance It. Check It.™
Driven to keep U.S. homeowners safe from malfunctioning garage doors, LiftMaster introduced the Don’t Chance It. Check It. Safety Campaign, spreading the word on the importance of garage door safety and introducing homeowners to three simple steps to check their garage door.
The 3-Step Safety Check:
- Check the sides of the garage door for properly installed photo eyes (black sensors) mounted no higher than 6 inches off the floor.
- Block the photo eye with an object over six inches tall and press the garage door opener’s close button. The door should not close.
- Lay a one and a half 1.5 inch-high object on the ground in the door’s path and press the close button. The door should reverse off this object.
To see the steps in action, watch this video.
Information courtesy of LiftMaster.
This is an unsafe installation that should be corrected .
