Opening Garage Doors During Power Outages
When power outages make your electrically operated garage doors completely useless, it can pose a serious inconvenience and even security risk for your home. How else are you supposed to fit your car inside your garage, or get it out of it? Luckily, the experts at Garage Door Chicago have prepared an fantastic list of tips on how you can get into your garage even when your garage door opener is completely useless during a power outage.
Bypassing
Most garage doors have a bypass system that turns off the automatic garage door opener and allows you to manually open the garage door. If there’s a rope hanging from your garage door opener system, usually one with a handle, that is your bypass trigger. Simply pull the handle, and the opener will disengage from the unusable automatic electronic system. Only activate the bypass when the garage door is closed, because if you do so while the garage door is open, the door will slam down at an extreme speed which could seriously damage the door or anybody in the vicinity.
Opening the Door during Outages
Pull the rope back and as near to the garage door motor as it can possibly be. This will keep it out of the way while you manually operate the garage door. Hopefully your power will only be out for a tiny bit of time, and that you can automatically operate your garage door soon. Homeowner’s have used garage door manual functions for years before there were automatic garage door openers – and even though it’s not as convenient, it’s a handy method that doesn’t rely on the availability of electric power.
When the Power Comes Back On
When the power returns, you will just simply have to reattach your garage door to the automatic door opener. Pull the rope handle, just like you did when you disengaged it, and pull up on the door until you hear it snap back into place. You can also simply press a button on the automatic opener, and you will see the spring attachment reconnect as soon as the opener reaches the correct point. If your garage door doesn’t work with the opener after a power outage, you will have to contact a garage door repair expert, like those at Garage Door Chicago.
Safety Tips
Power outages can pose serious dangers and inconveniences to your home, but they shouldn’t render your garage door unsafe. Even when the power is out, garage doors are immensely heavy and dangerous pieces of equipment. Make sure to manage the danger of garage doors by always being careful when you disengage and reengage your automatic garage door opener, and make sure all people, animals, and equipment are clear from the vicinity of the garage door when you do so.
