We all know how easily our little ones put themselves in danger. A garage is an unexpected place where they could easily have an accident. It’s one of the few areas we don’t think about when childproofing the house.
Somehow, the garage is one of the most dangerous places for children due to what we store there. The door itself can also present a huge danger as your child could unknowingly get stuck underneath it.
We at Garage Door Medics are concerned about garage door child safety and have put together this guide to help you take as much preventive action against an accident as possible.
The 3 Steps to Ensure Garage Door Child Safety
1. Check the Garage Door and Its Mechanical Components
The garage door can easily malfunction if you do not perform regular maintenance. The first step to childproofing your garage door is to check regularly for potential issues.
Make Sure You Perform Regular Garage Door Repairs and Maintenance
You should lubricate your garage door twice a year and check the components to ensure proper function. These garage door parts include the hinges and spring. Also, check for new gaps or cracks that form randomly.
If you notice sudden or unusual noises, call a garage door repair service immediately. A malfunctioning garage door can put your child in potentially dangerous situations. For instance, it could indicate misaligned tracks or a broken component.
Check the Sensors and Safety-Reverse
The small black boxes located on either side of the bottom of the garage door are motion sensors. These sensors are vital safety features in a garage. They sense when a person or object blocks the garage door as it closes.
The sensors have an auto-reverse feature that triggers automatically when something keeps the door from closing. To test the safety reverse, place an object under the garage door (such as a box or paper towel roll). If the garage door shuts on the object, your sensors are malfunctioning.
You can troubleshoot by checking sensor alignment and the lenses. If you see a light blinking on either sensor, you likely need to re-align them. You can also try to clean or dry the lenses with a soft cloth.
If neither option works, call garage door repair experts in Apache Junction, AZ, to check your sensors.
Replace the Garage Door with a Dependable Model
Have you just moved into a new house or noticed that your garage door has worn out? Make sure you replace it with a high-quality, dependable garage door. Cheap garage doors are more likely to break down, putting your kids at higher risk of injury.
2. Childproof Your Garage
Next, make sure that your entire garage is childproof. Kids are small enough to fit through small spaces, climb, and put small body parts such as fingers at risk. Keep your curious kids safe with the following advice.
Lock Your Cars and Garage Door
Always lock the garage door and the door that leads to it from your house. By doing so, you will prevent your child from entering the garage unattended.
If you keep the garage doors locked, your child is also less likely to get into the garage or escape through the garage door. In addition, you should always lock your car doors in case your child tries to open the door and gets injured.
Keep Clutter Off the Floor
Leaving clutter in the garage encourages accidents. So, make sure you haven’t left your tools on the floor and you’ve swept up any leftover nails, glass, etc., after working in the garage. If you practice keeping a clutter-free garage, you’re less likely to leave out hazardous items.
Put Dangerous Items On the Top Shelf
For most people, their garage is the perfect place for storing dirty and/or potentially harmful objects. Many homeowners keep paint, tools, toxic chemicals, and more in the garage. Therefore, you can avoid accidents by installing a tall shelving unit or secure storage boxes that little hands can’t reach.
Check for Gaps and Cracks
If you notice gaps or cracks in or around your garage door, seal them or call a technician to troubleshoot. Your child could easily try to lift the garage door or stick their finger through a small hole, causing an injury.
Get a Remote with Child Safety Features
Some garage door openers come with a child lock. Though you should always keep the garage remote out of reach, enable the child safety feature whenever you put the remote away in case your child finds it.
Nowadays, you can connect your garage to your phone. Confirm that your child has no access to the app that opens and closes the door. Alternatively, you can set up a password if your garage connects to a voice assistant like Alexa.
3. Educate Your Child in Garage Safety Precautions
The last and most crucial step is teaching your child how to stay safe in the garage. Though children don’t always listen, you can at least discourage them from touching certain garage components. You can also teach them how to practice personal safety in any situation.
For young children, highlight the most dangerous parts of the garage and consistently keep them away from those areas. For older kids who can play by themselves, give them a thorough lesson on how to stay safe. Informing your kids of each potential danger is the best way to ensure garage door child safety.
Teach Garage Safety
Highlight the following safety precautions for your kids:
- Do not tell anyone how to open the garage door or its password, even if they are friends.
- When you close the garage door, make sure nothing and no one is in the way including toys, people, pets, etc.
- Don’t ride or touch the door while it’s opening.
- Don’t climb on the door.
- Do not touch any of the metal components around the door.
- Don’t play in the garage.
When children injure themselves in the garage, they will likely damage a garage component as well. Therefore, by protecting your kids, you will also save money on potential repairs.
Explain Danger Zones
You should also teach your children about the potentially dangerous parts of the garage door. For example, consider the lifting cables that control the door’s movement, which undergo significant tension. If they break, the whole door could fall or the cable could hit someone and hurt them severely.
Another example you should explain is the sensors. If they become misaligned or broken, they could cause a malfunction in the auto-reverse feature. As a result, this malfunction could make the garage door shut on someone.
Schedule a Maintenance Appointment to Ensure a Childproof Garage Door
If you follow these three steps to ensure garage door child safety, we guarantee that your house will be more ready for your kids. You can contact Garage Door Medics if you need an expert garage door technician in Apache Junction, AZ, to childproof your garage.
With over 15,000 garage doors serviced annually, our technicians are experts in garage door repairs, replacements, and garage door child safety. We never recommend unnecessary repairs and are available 24/7 for emergency service. Call us at (888) 997-2423 to book a maintenance appointment today.
Want to learn more about commercial sectional garage doors and other garage door-related topics? You can check out the Garage Door Medics blog. Our blog features experts who regularly write about our top safety and maintenance tips.
