Garage Doors have evolved safety mechanisms to avoid dangerous situations that could potentially put your family, pets or car at risk. The average garage door has a sensor which can can detect disturbances and reverse the movement when closing, to avoid harming anything in its pathway. Even if the sensor is not present, the door should immediately reverse upon coming in contact with a solid option.
Well, how can one be sure these safety mechanisms are functioning properly before an accident happens?
“In a study of 50 automatic garage doors, researchers found that only 60% reversed when they came in contact with a child-size mannequin or its scientific substitute – a roll of paper towels.”
More alarmingly, some doors exerted a minimum of 130 pounds of pressure before reversing – that’s enough to injure or kill a child.
This simple “Paper Towel Test” can help assure you that your door is functioning safely and providing the protection it should.
- Take a 59.5-square-foot roll of paper towel and place it on its side under the garage door.
- Close your garage door regularly.
- If the door, or sensor, fails to detect the paper towel role and reverse, we urge you to put the door into manual mode until you can have it repaired by a professional.
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