Take Preventive Measures to Keep Your Garage and Family Safe

Millions of garage doors lack the latest safety features or may not be operating properly. There is no better time to ensure the heaviest and largest moving object in the home, the garage door, is the safest it can be.

As garage door openers made their way into American homes, laws were enacted to ensure the safety of those using them. For example, legislation was passed requiring all new garage door openers manufactured in 1993 and beyond to possess added safety features. The law mandated that all garage door openers be manufactured and sold with an external protection system otherwise known as infrared sensors or “photo-eyes.”

These sensors are installed near the floor on either side of the garage door opening. Once the invisible laser beam between the two sensors is broken by an obstruction, the door reverses automatically. If your opener lacks a similar safety reversing feature, it’s time to get a new opener.

Openers made prior to 1993 came equipped with force-sensing safety systems that would only reverse the door after having made contact with the object in the door’s path. The vast majority of these older units are not equipped with “photo-eyes,” which means these older systems will only reverse AFTER making contact with the obstruction, person, child or pet standing in the way. And due to the long lifespan of garage door openers, one of these older units could still be lurking in your garage, unless you perform a safety check!

DON’T CHANCE IT. CHECK IT.

Driven to keep U.S. homeowners safe from malfunctioning garage doors, LiftMaster, the number one brand of professionally installed residential garage door openers with more than 4,000 dealers across the country, has introduced the Don’t Chance It. Check It.™Safety Campaign, spreading the word on three simple steps any homeowners can perform in just a few minutes.

The 3-Step Safety Check is as follows:

1. Check the sides of the garage door for properly installed photo eyes (black sensors) mounted no higher than 6 inches off the floor.
2. Block the photo eye with an object over 6 inches tall and press the garage door opener’s close button. The door should not close.
3. Lay a 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.

 

Information courtesy of Liftmaster

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