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According to the experts at the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the average residential garage door can weigh over 400 pounds, an enormous amount that can overwhelm even the strongest individuals. Imagine how deadly a 400-pound, free-falling door can be for a small child, most of whom weigh under 100 pounds. Unfortunately, there are many cases in which adults and children have been crushed by a damaged or unsafe garage door. There are a number of reasons why families can find themselves in these situations. Though rarely is someone directly at fault for these accidents, it is still critical that you enlist professional garage door repair in Lansing to keep your door in safe working condition. Repair technicians can even add safety features to your door to minimize your risk of injury. Understanding the risks, though, is the first step to promoting garage safety. What follows is information on the causes of accidents as well as the many everyday risks associated with garage doors. Causes of Garage Door Accidents The most common garage door accidents are due to an overhead door free-falling onto a person in the door's way. Some reasons that this can happen include: • Broken springs • Old or worn-out springs with poor tension • Accidental or unsafe disconnection of the pull cord on the ceiling • Poor installation • Damage to the track • Miscellaneous circumstances like weather damage or gradual water damage If you suspect that your garage door is damaged, you should not attempt to repair it yourself. Not only can you injure yourself during installation—for example, if you replace a spring, the door can fall without the proper preparations-—but your improper repairs will not solve problems with the door. These "bandage repairs," or quick fixes, can improve the immediate function of the door but increase your chances of falling victim to an accident later. Types of Garage Door Accidents In addition to falling doors, adults and children can suffer from the following types of accidents due to improper interaction with a garage door or door failure: • Children can stick their fingers in garage door tracks. • Children can force their hands or objects into the creases that open when a garage door is rising or falling. • Garage doors can crush vehicles as they are entering or exiting. • Interaction with any electrical components of an automatic garage door can cause serious injury to adults and children. It is essential for your family's safety that you do all you can to prevent these accidents. Preventing Garage Door Accidents • These are some excellent ways to prevent accidents to you or any member of your family: • Childproof your garage door track by covering exposed holes with duct tape. • Hire a garage door contractor to install a controlled descent device, which works as an automatic brake for free-falling garage doors and stops them as they begin to fall. • Secure all ropes and handles so they are outside a child's reach. • Consider installing sensors that stop the door when it detects extra weight. This will prevent children from being able to climb a garage door. • Hire a repair expert to check the photo eyes, or the ground-level sensors that detect objects in the garage door's path. They need to be clean, unobstructed, and perfectly aligned at all times. • Schedule regular maintenance checks to professionally test your door's performance, especially if your door is over 10 years old. • Enlist the help of garage door repair in Lansing for any and all suspected problems with your door. Professional repair services can result in eliminating safety concerns and improving the overall safety of your garage door.
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