Safety Considerations When Choosing Garage Doors

There are several features to look for when choosing a garage door. The garage should be attractive. It should protect the home from break-ins and bad weather. It must also be safe.

If your garage door isn’t safe, it may fall on your car as you enter or exit the driveway. It may also close on a pet or child in its path.

So, how do you know if your garage door is safe? There are some key garage door safety features to look out for. This article will cover some key considerations.

Common Garage Door Safety Features and Mechanisms

At a minimum, your garage door should have photo eye sensors that detect obstructions, an auto-reverse that stops the door when it meets resistance, and an emergency release cord for manual operation. Here’s how to confirm each one is working.

Safety Eyes

Safety eyes are infrared sensors mounted on either side of your garage door opening, about six inches above the ground. When something breaks the beam between them, the door automatically reverses.

These sensors prevent the door from closing on children, pets, or objects in its path. Federal law has required them on all residential garage door openers manufactured since 1993.

How to test your safety eyes:

• Start with the door open
• Press the close button on your remote or wall panel
• Wave a broomstick or similar object through the sensor beam while the door is closing
• The door should reverse immediately

If the door doesn’t reverse, check for these common issues:

• Dirty lenses – Wipe both sensors with a microfiber cloth
• Misalignment – Both sensors should have solid indicator lights (usually green); a blinking light means they’re not aligned
• Sun interference – Direct sunlight can disrupt the beam; consider adding a shade or cardboard tube around the sensor

Force Settings

Force settings control how much resistance your garage door will push through before reversing. This feature works as a backup to your safety eyes. If something is in the door’s path, the motor should stop and reverse when it meets resistance.

How to test force settings:

• Place a 2×4 flat on the ground in the door’s path
• Close the door using your remote
• When the door contacts the wood, it should reverse within two seconds

If the door pushes through or doesn’t reverse, the close-force setting needs adjustment. Your owner’s manual has model-specific instructions, but most openers use two adjustment screws on the back or side of the motor unit. The “down” or “close” screw controls the closing force.

Make small adjustments – a quarter turn at a time – and retest after each change.

Door Balance

A balanced garage door has its weight evenly distributed across the spring system. When the balance is off, springs and cables work harder than they should. This accelerates wear and increases the risk of sudden failure.

How to test door balance:

• Close the door completely
• Pull the emergency release cord to disconnect the opener
• Lift the door manually to about waist height
• Release the door carefully

A balanced door will stay in place or drift slowly. If it falls quickly or shoots upward, the springs need adjustment.

Important: Spring adjustment requires specialized tools and training. The tension involved can cause serious injury. Call a professional if your balance test fails.

Emergency Release Cord

The red emergency release cord hangs from the opener’s trolley – the carriage that moves along the rail. Pulling this cord disconnects the door from the motorized opener so you can operate it manually.

You’ll need this feature if:

• Power goes out and you need to open or close the door
• The opener motor fails
• The door gets stuck mid-cycle

Practice using your emergency release before you need it. Pull the cord, then lift and lower the door manually a few times. To reconnect, simply run the opener – the trolley will re-engage automatically on most models.

One caution: if a spring is broken, the door will be extremely heavy. Don’t attempt to lift it manually in this situation.

Warning Signs Your Garage Door Is Unsafe

A garage door showing signs of wear can fail without much warning. Knowing what to look for helps you catch problems before they become dangerous.

Unusual Sounds

Pay attention if your garage door starts making new noises. Grinding or scraping often means metal parts are rubbing where they shouldn’t – usually a track alignment issue or worn rollers. Squealing points to parts that need lubrication. Popping or snapping sounds are more serious and may indicate spring or cable stress.

A door that operated quietly for years and suddenly becomes loud is telling you something has changed.

Visual Red Flags

Inspect your garage door system monthly for these signs:

• Frayed or rusted cables – Even minor fraying means the cable is weakened and could snap
• Gaps between spring coils – Torsion springs under stress will show visible gaps or stretching
• Rust on springs – Corrosion weakens springs and increases risk of breaking
• Sagging door sections – The door should hang level when closed; sagging indicates balance problems or damaged panels
• Cracks or warping – Compromised panels affect the door’s structural integrity

Movement Problems

Test your door’s movement regularly. Warning signs include:

• The door hesitates, jerks, or reverses unexpectedly during operation
• One side closes faster than the other
• The door won’t stay open when you lift it manually and release it halfway
• Slow or delayed response to your opener

A properly balanced door should stay in place when you release it at the halfway point. If it falls or rises on its own, the springs need attention.

When to Stop Using Your Door Immediately

Some situations require you to stop using the door until a professional inspects it:

• A spring has visibly broken or snapped
• A cable has come loose or snapped
• The door has come off its track
• The door fell or closed unexpectedly

Important: Torsion springs are under extreme tension and cause serious injuries every year. Never attempt to adjust, repair, or replace springs yourself. This is always a job for a trained technician.

Garage Door Safety for Children and Pets

Garage doors are one of the heaviest moving objects in most homes – some weigh over 400 pounds. Children and pets don’t understand the danger, so safety depends on supervision, education, and a few simple precautions.

Teach Children Early

Kids should learn that garage doors are not toys. Cover these basics as soon as they’re old enough to understand:

• Never stand, walk, or run under a moving door
• Never try to “race” the door as it closes
• Keep hands and fingers away from door sections, tracks, and hinges
• Only adults operate the wall button or remote

Make sure children know why these rules exist. A closing garage door won’t stop if the safety sensors miss them – especially if they’re above the sensor beam height.

Keep Controls Out of Reach

Wall-mounted buttons should be installed at least five feet high, out of reach of young children. Store remotes where kids can’t access them – not in low cubbies, on hooks by the door, or in unlocked cars.

If your opener has a smartphone app, use a PIN or keep the app off devices that children can access.

Supervise Around the Garage

Never let children play in or near the garage unsupervised. This includes:

• The garage itself
• The driveway near the door’s path
• Areas where the door’s movement is visible (kids may try to trigger it)

When backing out, always confirm children and pets are visible and clear of the door’s path before activating it.

Pet Considerations

Dogs and cats can dart under a closing door faster than sensors can react. A few precautions help:

• Keep pets inside or secured when operating the door
• Check behind vehicles and along walls before closing – pets often hide in garages
• Consider a motion-activated alert that sounds when something enters the garage

If your pet tends to follow cars out of the garage, train them to stay back or install a pet gate at the garage entry to the house.

Add a Layer of Protection

For households with young children or pets, these upgrades add peace of mind:

• Motion-detecting lights – Alert you when something enters the garage unexpectedly
• Timer-to-close feature – Automatically closes the door after a set period, reducing the chance it’s left open
• Smartphone alerts – Notify you when the door opens or closes so you always know its status

Protect Your Family With a Garage Door Built for Safety

Garage door safety is not optional. A single failure can put your car, your pets, or your family at risk, which is why understanding sensors, balance, and warning signs matters more than most homeowners realize.

We help homeowners choose and maintain garage doors that are designed to stop when they should, move smoothly, and hold up under daily use. From proper installation to routine inspections and repairs, we make sure every safety feature works the way it should so you can use your garage with confidence.

Here are the next steps to take:

1. Test your safety eyes, auto-reverse, and door balance using the checks outlined above to spot problems early.
2. If you notice unusual sounds, uneven movement, or visible wear, stop using the door and schedule a professional inspection.
3. Contact us to select, install, or service a Raynor garage door that meets modern safety standards.

Your garage door is one of the largest moving parts of your home. Let us help you make it one of the safest. Contact Raynor Door Authority today to protect what matters most.

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