Here in Southern California, we don’t have many hurricanes knocking our power lines down, like they do in many other areas of the US, but we do have plenty of high winds to be concerned about. High winds often mess with power lines, resulting in lost power for thousands of homes. What if that happens in your neighborhood? It’s not like you can stop your normal routine. You still have to get the kids to school, go to work, run errands, etc.
So what should you do about your garage door if the power goes out? Should you just open it manually?
Yes, it’s perfectly safe to open your garage door manually during a power outage if you follow these important tips.
Trip the Trigger
Just about all garage door openers have a bypass switch for whenever the power goes out, the motor becomes damages, or the remote opener stops working properly. Look for a rope with a handle on the end (it’s usually) red – this is the manual release handle that’ll disengage the trolley from the attachment point to the rail. Once you pull this rope, the garage will be in manual mode. It’s important that if you activate this handle, make sure the garage door is down first. If you activate it and the garage door is up, it may come crashing down. Pull the rope down and towards the back of the garage (or the motor) to ensure it doesn’t get caught on the tracks.
Make sure you don’t put excessive force on the cord if it doesn’t release right away. Don’t hang from the cord, which could cause damage to the rope or level. It will take some force to disengage the lever, but don’t go crazy.
Reversing manual mode
Once power is back to normal in your home, you’ll probably want to restore your garage to automatic mode right away. Manually opening and closing your garage door is pretty inconvenient. To reengage the trolley attachment, pull down on the cord in the direction of the garage door opening. This will keep the lever from engaging. Pull up on the door until it snaps back into place and then – viola – you’re back to automatic mode. Alternatively, you could just hit the button on the remote opener, which will force the spring attachment back into place.
Get professional help
If you feel uncomfortable switching your garage door to manual or automatic mode, know that help is only a phone call away. Feel free to give Carroll Garage Doors a call at 1-888-578-2360 and we’ll send one of our expert technicians right over to help you out. We’re always happy to assist you with any garage door issues you may have, big or small, at any time. Once again, reach Los Angeles and Ventura counties’ garage door experts anytime by calling 1-888-578-2360 .
