For the most part, your garage door should serve you diligently without any problems whatsoever. However, once in a while your garage door may act up. And when this happens there is a small probability that the incident could cause some damage. In other cases, just the normal use of the garage door could cause some form of minor injury to the person operating it. Do you know what some of these injuries are and how to protect yourself from them?
Back strain
Back strain used to be a common complaint among long term users of garage doors. Today this injury is not as common. However, it still persists, especially among older persons. Back strain when using garage doors comes about due to over-exertion when operating manual units. To avoid suffering back strain when using your garage door, simply automate it by having a garage door opener installed. That way all you have to do is press a button to open your door.
Pinched fingers
Pinched fingers are yet another injury among garage door users. But unlike back strain, pinched fingers are still very much common to this day. This often happens when fingers get caught in between the sections of a sectional garage door during operation. To avoid suffering pinched fingers one can either automate their door and operate it remotely, or they can operate it manually but by carefully ensuring that they only hold the door by the handle.
Door hitting car or objects along its path
In some cases, garage doors have been reported to close unexpectedly and hit cars or other objects along their path. This is unexpected and should not happen under normal circumstances. Modern garage doors have safety sensors that keep the door from shutting if there is an object on its path. If your door closes in on your car or another object, have the sensors checked and replaced if need be.
Door slamming to the ground with force
Sometimes garage doors fall to the ground with force. And even when there is no object caught under the door, this anomaly causes damage to the door itself. In most cases this is caused by a snapped cable. The cables are responsible for holding the door in place and keeping it up. The torsion springs could also be responsible, especially if the door was being opened at the time of the incident. Have the cables or the torsion springs checked if this happens to your door.
Injury by unwinding torsion springs
Torsion springs store wound up energy within them. This energy then helps to lift the door as the springs unwind. Unfortunately, the wound torsion springs can cause damage or injury if tinkered with when damaged (and also when operational). It is therefore highly advisable that one does not fiddle with their torsion springs at all. If damaged, have a professional come inspect, repair, or replace them.
If you are experiencing any of the above unfortunate issues with your garage door, give us a call immediately. We offer reputable garage door repair San Diego services, including emergency services.