The garage is an important feature of the home. It’s a fantastic area to store items and keep your car safe from outside conditions. However, while this door is incredibly useful, many homeowners may get the feeling that their door isn’t secure. Thankfully, there are a few safety tips you can follow to properly secure your garage and keep your home safe. With the right tools and preparation, you can rest easy knowing you’ve secured your garage and home.
Be Careful Where You Leave Your Garage Door Opener
When you have a garage door opener, you need to be careful where you leave your garage door opener. Ideally, your garage door opener is something you would keep in your vehicle. At the end of the day, you would then park your vehicle in the garage where no one can access it. Unfortunately, not every situation works like this, and you must be careful when your car is outside the garage or when you move your opener.
Keep your opener inside a locked glove compartment. If at work, consider putting it in a desk drawer. Additionally, if you have extra garage door openers at home, keep them in a secure location. If you ever experience a home break-in, you wouldn’t want to be in a situation where the criminal could have a straightforward method to come back and steal even more.
Maintain Garage Door Security
One key way to secure your home is by making sure the actual door of your garage is safe and secure. Both modern and vintage garage doors provide an important layer of security, but over time, they can wear down and provide a less-than-optimal security layer. There are numerous issues that can cause your door to not open or close properly, turning your garage door into a major vulnerability. Some common issues that can hurt your door and eventually turn it into a target include:
- Misaligned tracks
- Worn-out rollers
- A broken sensor system
With the right care and preventative maintenance, you can have peace of mind knowing you’re giving the garage the protection it needs. You can address any issues before they get out of hand and hurt your door, but you can also take things to the next level by inspecting for rust. Forms of wear and tear, such as rust, can weaken the integrity of your door, making it easier for others to break in. If you have a garage door issue or feel something isn’t working as it should, don’t hesitate to get some professional help so that your home can stay secure.
Install Motion Sensor Lights
If you want to make your home and garage secure while simultaneously giving off the impression of security, you should invest in some high-quality motion sensor lights. The lights make your garage door space more visible when you’re working in and around the area, but they also deter criminals. If they are sneaky under the cover of darkness, the major burst of motion-activated light will scare them away.
Security Cameras
Installing motion sensor lights is a great defensive measure, but if you want to take things to the next level, consider installing security cameras. Accompanied by the lights, these cameras will simultaneously help deter wannabe thieves and provide a strong layer of security when they arrive.
In the ideal situation, someone would see the lights and cameras and pass by your home. Thankfully, in less-than-ideal situations, you can see someone trying to break in through the cameras and lights and contact the proper authorities.
Alarm System
Motion sensor lights and security cameras can go a long way, but if you’re worried you can’t protect your home, get yourself a security system. Without a security system, you would need to stay vigilant enough to spot something happening and call the necessary authorities. With a security system, you can install an alarm or motion sensor that automatically alerts you of unlawful entry. These systems vary in style—some simply text you, while others notify the authorities so that they can come and handle the situation.
Don’t Advertise Your Home
Another important safety tip you must follow if you want to secure your home’s garage is to avoid advertising yourself as a target. If you have multiple cars and one of them is much nicer than the other ones, park that one in the garage. You may opt to store it to keep the vehicle in better condition, but doing so can also help you keep your home from becoming a target.
Maintaining a clean and tidy yard is important for your curb appeal and overall aesthetics, but it also deters thieves. You keep your wallet and other valuables secure and out of sight when you walk around, and you must do the same with your home’s exterior. Storing luxury cars, keeping valuable kids’ toys out of your yard, and closing blinds and curtains that could show the inside of your home are also worthwhile actions.
Watch Your Door Shut Every Time
One of the worst mistakes people can make with their garage door is not watching it shut as they leave. Some modern garage doors have a safety feature that halts the closing mechanism if anything is in the way of the door sensor, meaning the door will not shut. Even something as small as a stray leaf in the wind or a pest could trigger this action, so you must watch your door shut when leaving to ensure everything shuts as it should. If not, something could trigger the sensor after you head inside, and the entire time you’re away, your garage door will remain open.
It’s important you learn these safety tips so you can secure your garage and make your home feel safe. However, even when you know how to take care of your home, the act of securing your garage requires some special work—work that you may need professional help with. At Steel City Garage Doors, we have the expertise and tools to handle any garage door repair, maintenance, and installation needs you have. We’re the Pittsburgh garage door company you can count on to secure your garage door and give you peace of mind.
