Garage door safety with children and pets

A garage door is a large, heavy moving object, and children are at the most risk around it. CPSC and DASMA publish clear household rules. This guide turns them into a short routine, and flags the warning signs that mean the door should not be used until a technician has looked at it.

CPSC reported in 1991 that 48 children aged two to 14 had died after being trapped under automatic garage doors since 1982, and a later CPSC publication gave about 73 children since March 1982. That led to federal entrapment requirements for openers, described in auto-reverse explained.

An industry spokesperson quoted in that CPSC release called a garage door the largest moving object in the home. The rules below cost nothing and take minutes.

• Remotes are not toys. DASMA says not to let children play with or use the transmitters or remote controls, and to store them out of reach. CPSC gives the same advice.
• Wall button out of reach. DASMA says the push button wall control should be at least 5 feet from the floor, mounted where you can see the door move. CPSC says to mount it as high as practical. Clopay also recommends at least 5 feet.
• No playing under or near the door. DASMA says to teach children never to play under or near an open garage door, and to explain the danger of being trapped.
• No beat the door. DASMA says not to let children or adults play the game of running under a closing door.
• Hands clear of the door. DASMA says to teach children to keep their hands and fingers clear of section joints, hinges, track, springs and other door parts. It also says never to place fingers between the door sections.
• Watch the door until it stops. DASMA says to keep the door in sight until it has fully stopped when using the button or transmitter, and not to stand or walk under a moving door.

Adults should follow the same rules. DASMA notes that adults should model safe behavior.

The sources we read give detailed child-safety rules but do not publish separate pet rules, so these suggestions are general. Treat the door like any heavy moving machine. Keep pets out of the doorway when the door is moving, close the garage door only when you can see that the path is clear, and keep pets out of the garage while a technician is working.

Chamberlain says to clear people, pets and objects from the doorway before a door is operated by hand. If the door is damaged, keep pets and children away from it entirely.

These checks need no tools and no contact with springs, cables or brackets. Do them only if the door is undamaged and moves normally.

1. Test the auto-reverse each month. Chamberlain says the test should be done monthly and after any adjustment. Lay a 2x4 flat on the floor in the door's path and close the door. It should reverse on contact. Use how to test your opener safety reverse.
2. Check the photo eyes. CPSC advises mounting an electric eye 4 to 6 inches above the floor. Make sure both eyes are in place and nothing blocks them. See safety sensors not working. Light signals differ by model, so check your model's manual.
3. Check the wall button height. Compare it with the 5 foot guidance above.
4. Look at the warning labels. Openers made since 1993 must carry an entrapment warning label near the wall button, according to CPSC. If it is missing or unreadable, check your manual.
5. Learn where the manual release is. DASMA says to know how to use the emergency release in case someone is pinned by the door. Read how to use the manual release safely before you need it.

Stop using the door and keep children and pets away if you see any of these:

• The door does not reverse when it meets the board, or reverses on its own. CPSC advises disengaging the opener until it is adjusted, repaired or replaced.
• The photo eyes do not respond, or the door will not close.
• A loud bang, a gap in a spring, a frayed cable, or a door that is crooked, heavy or off its track. See signs a garage door spring is broken and when a garage door is unsafe to use.
• Your opener predates the 1991 and 1993 federal requirements, or you do not know whether it has automatic reversal. CPSC advised that openers without automatic reversal should be replaced.

Our technicians inspect the door, opener and sensors, and confirm the cause before repairing or replacing parts. See safety sensor repair, opener repair and garage door repair.

Safe operation depends on regular care. DASMA says proper installation, operation, maintenance and testing of the door and opener are necessary for safe use, and it suggests keeping manuals near the door because each model has specific safety instructions. DASMA also says a yearly visit from a trained door systems technician helps keep a door operating safely.

Add the monthly reversal test and an annual inspection to your calendar. The annual maintenance checklist lists what to review. Our maintenance and tune-ups service covers the inspection.

• Garage Door Safety Sensor Repair
• Garage Door Opener Repair
• Garage Door Repair
• Garage Door Maintenance and Tune-Ups

• CPSC: Garage door opener safety
• DASMA: Garage door safety
• DASMA: Garage doors
• CPSC: Government and industry move to reduce garage door opener child entrapment deaths
• CPSC: Safety Commission publishes final rules for automatic garage door openers
• Chamberlain: How do I test the safety reversal system