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Know Your Garage Door Safety Features

Know Your Garage Door Safety Features

Mehr’s Garage Doors is a trusted garage door installation and repair company in St. George, Utah. We know how important safety is for the way your garage door works. It’s crucial to ensure your garage door, the largest moving object in your home, works safely to protect your family, pets, and property. 

Many people use their garages more than once a day, and they only sometimes think about the dangers that an old or poorly maintained garage door system could pose. But if your garage door doesn’t work right, bad things can happen, like damage to your property, significant injuries, or even death.

We are committed to informing our customers about the value of garage door safety features. Knowing how these parts work and how to keep them in good shape will give you peace of mind that your garage door is working safely and effectively.  

This piece will discuss the most essential safety features every modern garage door should have. We’ll explain what these features do and how they protect you and your family. We’ll advise you on testing and keeping these features in good shape so they work well over time. 

Your safety is our top priority at Mehr’s Garage Doors. We promise that all our garage door products and services will be of the highest quality and made with your safety in mind. Let’s work together to ensure your family is safe and your garage door works well and safely for many years. 

Auto-Reverse Mechanism: Preventing Accidents and Injuries

Modern garage door systems have an auto-reverse device, one of the most critical safety features. This intelligent technology has been required as a safety factor in all garage door openers since 1993 and for a good reason. Its main job is to keep the garage door from closing on something, someone, or a pet, which lowers the risk of damage to property and hurt to people. 

Sensors check for resistance or blockage when the garage door closes to activate the auto-reverse feature. If the door hits something, the system tells the opener to stop and turn it around, letting it open all the way. This quick reaction could mean a close call and a significant accident. 

To show how important this feature is, picture a child or pet walking under the closing garage door without meaning to. Without the auto-reverse feature, terrible things could happen. However, if this safety feature were in place, the door would sense the obstacle and quickly turn around, keeping your family safe. 

The auto-reverse feature on your garage door must be checked often to ensure it works properly. To do this, put something on the ground in the way of the closed door, like a brick or a piece of wood. If the door doesn’t move back when it hits something, you should get it fixed or adjusted by an expert. 

Mehr’s Garage Doors strongly recommends regular maintenance and testing of your garage door’s auto-reverse mechanism. Our skilled technicians will carefully check and test this critical safety feature during regular maintenance visits to ensure it operates at its best. We are dedicated to giving you the peace of mind of knowing your garage door works safely and efficiently. 

Next, we’ll discuss photo eye sensors, another vital safety feature. You and your family are safer because these sensors work with the auto-reverse feature to add another layer of protection. We’ll tell you more about how these two safety tools work together soon. 

Photo Eye Sensors: Detecting Obstructions

Along with the auto-reverse feature, photo-eye sensors are essential for safely ensuring your garage door works. These modest parts, usually near the bottom of the garage door frame, work hard to find anything in the door’s way. 

Photo eye monitors have two parts: a transmitter and a receiver. Behind the garage door, the transmitter sends a beam of light that can’t be seen to the sensor on the other side. The sensors tell the garage door opener to stop closing the door and turn around if a person, pet, or item blocks this beam. 

This function helps prevent accidents when things are left in the way of the garage door. For instance, if you leave a rake or bike lying in the way of the closing door by mistake, the photo eye sensors will see it and stop the door from closing, protecting both the object and the door from breaking. 

Keeping your photo eye sensors clean and in the right place is crucial for their proper operation. Dirty, dusty, or covered in cobwebs can cause the lenses to get messy, blocking the light beam and making the instruments unusable. Also, if the sensors are pushed out of place, the light beam might not reach the receiver, which would stop the door from closing. 

At Mehr’s Garage Doors, we suggest you regularly check your photo eye sensors for any signs of being blocked or out of place. During our maintenance visits, our technicians will clean and adjust your sensors to ensure they work at their best. 

If you notice that your garage door isn’t closing properly or that the lights on the sensors aren’t on, please call us immediately. This could mean that your photo eye sensors need to be fixed.

Manual Release Handle: Overriding the Automatic Opener

Even though an automatic garage door opener is very helpful, there may be times when you need to open and close the door by hand. Automatic door openers can become briefly unusable if the power goes out, the opener stops working, or the batteries in the remote control run out. The manual release handle is there to help with that. 

You can turn off the automatic opening and open and close the door by hand using the manual release handle, usually a red rope hanging down the garage door trolley. This function is necessary to ensure you can still access your garage in case of an emergency or a broken opener. 

To use the manual release handle, pull down on the rope to separate the trolley from the opener carriage. This will let you open and close the garage door by hand. It’s important to remember that the door might be heavy, especially if you have a double garage door. Lift it carefully and ask for help if you need it. 

After opening or closing the door by hand, you’ll need to connect the trolley back to the opener carriage for it to work automatically again. Pull the manual release handle toward the door to get the trolley moving again. 

Here at Mehr’s Garage Doors, every user needs to know where their garage door’s manual release handle is and how to use it. Learning to deactivate your garage door opener in an emergency quickly can save you time and keep your family safe. 

During our garage door installation and maintenance services, our skilled techs will show you how to use your manual release handle correctly and answer any questions you may have about this critical safety feature. 

Rolling Code Technology: Enhancing Security

Digital Security is just as important as physical safety when it comes to your garage door in this day and age of high technology. That’s where rolling code technology comes in handy. This new feature keeps hackers and thieves out by keeping the remote control signal for your garage door opener safe and secure. 

When you use rolling code technology, the access code between your garage door opener and remote control changes every time you use it. Someone could not copy the signal from your remote, even if they got a hold of it. This would keep them from getting into your garage without permission. 

Some older garage door openers had a set code system that made them easier to hack and break into. Thanks to rolling code technology, you can rest easy knowing that digital thieves can’t get into your car or home. 

At Mehr’s Garage Doors, we are happy to offer garage door openers with rolling code technology. This gives our customers the highest level of Security. Our skilled technicians can help you pick the suitable opener for your house and ensure it is set up and programmed correctly to protect your family. 

Battery Backup Systems: Ensuring Operation During Power Outages

Anytime the power goes out, you might not be able to get into your car and could end up stuck outside your house. This is why a battery backup system is helpful. This critical safety feature ensures that your garage door opener will still work even if the power goes out, so you can safely get in and out of your garage. 

A battery backup system usually includes a battery pack that can be charged and hooked to your garage door opener. When the power goes out, the battery backup system takes over automatically, giving your opener power so you can still use your garage door as standard. 

This feature is crucial for families with older or disabled members or people who use their garage as their main entrance to the house. If the power goes out, you won’t have to worry about being stuck outside your home if you have a battery backup system. 

We know how important it is to access your garage without any problems, which is why Mehr’s Garage Doors sells garage door openers with built-in battery backup systems. Our skilled technicians can help you pick the best opener for your needs, install it correctly, and test it to ensure it works reliably, even when the power goes out. 

Regular Maintenance: Keeping Your Door Safe and Functional

All the safety features discussed are essential to keeping your family safe. Still, regular maintenance is also necessary to ensure your garage door keeps working safely and efficiently. Your garage door needs regular maintenance, just like any other mechanical system in your home. This will keep it in good shape, catch any problems early, and make it last longer. 

At Mehr’s Garage Doors, we suggest you have a professional check and fix your garage door at least once a year. During a maintenance visit, our skilled techs will carefully check your garage door system, including the springs, cables, rollers, and opener, to ensure everything is in good shape. 

We’ll also make necessary changes or fixes to keep your door safe and working well. This could mean greaseing moving parts, tightening up loose hardware, or changing worn-out parts. 

You can keep your garage door in great shape by professionally servicing it and performing simple checks and tests at home. Some of these are checking the door and its parts visually for signs of damage or wear, ensuring the auto-reverse mechanism and photo eye sensors work, and ensuring the manual release handle is easy to reach and works appropriately. 

You can ensure that your garage door works safely and reliably for years by keeping up with regular maintenance and fixing any problems immediately. We’re here to help you at Mehr’s Garage Doors every step of the way, from construction to maintenance and more. 

Conclusion: Prioritizing Safety for Your Family and Home

Here at Mehr’s Garage Doors, we know how important it is for you to keep your family and home safe. Because of this, we are committed to giving our St. George, Utah, customers garage door products and services, all of which are made with your safety in mind.

This piece has discussed the vital safety features every modern garage door should have. These include an auto-reverse mechanism, photo eye sensors, a manual release handle, rolling code technology, battery backup systems, and how important it is to do regular maintenance. 

Knowing how these parts work together to keep you and your family safe will give you peace of mind about how safe and reliable your garage door system is. You can be sure your garage door will always work smoothly and safely, whether you’re going home from work, running errands, or spending time with your family. 

Mehr’s Garage Doors wants to be your go-to company for garage door safety. Our team includes skilled technicians who can build, maintain, and fix your garage door system so that it always works at its best. 

We’re proud to have served the St. George neighborhood for 40 years and are committed to giving each customer a solution that fits their needs. When you choose Mehr’s Garage Doors, you get the best quality, dependability, and safety. 

Don’t hesitate to call us if you need a new garage door installed, routine maintenance, or emergency repairs. We can help you lock your garage door one step at a time to keep your family and home safe. 

Thanks for trusting Mehr’s Garage Doors to keep your garage door safe. Remember that your safety is our top priority, and we’re always here to help you feel better about your garage door system. You can count on us for all your St. George, Utah, garage door needs. Stay safe.