Garage Door Spring Safety for Fox Cities Homes
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Garage door spring safety starts with knowing what a spring is: a coil of steel wound tight enough to lift your door with a fingertip. That stored energy is useful until something breaks, and it's dangerous when someone without the tools tries to adjust it.
Warning signs
- A gap in the coils of the spring above the door
- The door feels heavy or slams shut when the opener is disconnected
- Frayed or rusty cables near the bottom corners
- A loud crack, especially on a cold night
Never do these
- Adjust or unwind a torsion spring, or loosen its set screws
- Unbolt the bottom brackets. They hold the cables under tension
- Pull the release cord on an open door with a broken spring
- Run an extension-spring door without safety cables
Winter precautions
- Free a frozen door gently. Don't let the opener rip it off the floor.
- Clear ice where the door lands so it closes evenly.
- Use a cold-rated lubricant on springs and hinges in the fall.
- Test auto-reverse monthly: a 2x4 laid flat under the door should make it reverse.
A broken spring with the door stuck open: stay out from under it and call a technician.
Federal safety rules (16 CFR Part 1211) require automatic residential openers sold in the U.S. since 1993 to have entrapment protection such as photo eyes. If yours doesn't, replace it.
Reference: 16 CFR Part 1211.