Make Sure Your Garage Door
Opener is Safe

The device that lets you in and out of your garage controls a 300 to 400-pound door. If the opener fails to reverse when it’s supposed to, it could trap you, your car, your child or pet.

Experts recommend a monthly test of the opener’s automatic reverse mechanism. It’s very easy to do. First, activate the door opener to raise the garage door. Then place a one-inch-thick piece of wood on the garage floor in the path of the door. Activate the opener to close the garage door. As soon as the door hits the wood, it should reverse and re-open within two seconds.

If this test doesn’t reverse the opener immediately, use the emergency release handle to operate the door manually until the opener is repaired or replaced. To get the door fixed, check your owner’s manual or call a professional repair service. They’re listed in the Yellow Pages under "Garage Doors and Openers."

There are a few other things to keep in mind about automatic garage door openers, especially when you decide to buy one. Check to see if the model you’re interested in is UL-listed. UL-listed openers that have been manufactured after April 1, 1982, must reverse off a one-inch object. But models that aren’t UL-listed may not meet these standards.

It’s important to teach older children how to operate the door opener. But never allow young children to operate or play with these controls. One way to keep young children from tampering with the opener is to locate wall-mounted controls high enough so that kids can’t reach them. Keep the remote control in the glove compartment of your car. And remember, never walk under a moving garage door.