Your garage door is the single largest entry point to your home. This makes it very important that it stays closed and secured like any other entrance to your house. But why? What are the potential problems if you don’t always close your garage door when it’s unattended? Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Orlando, FL has some insights that might help you stay better protected.
Pests
Garages are the perfect hideout for lots of little critters. Ants, roaches, and more can find prime colony building sites. Raccoons can get in and break into just about anything you may have stored inside. Rodents can nibble away at precious items you have stowed away. Even birds could get in and wreak havoc.
You want to minimize these potential problems as much as possible.
Too keep out the bigger pests like birds or raccoons, you should always close your garage door when it’s unattended. Even if you’re just going inside briefly, you should take that extra second to hit the garage door opener button and seal things up. A small animal could quickly get inside and find a nice hiding spot before you know they’re even there.
For the smaller pests, you’ll want to make sure that your garage door seals are good as well. These seals will close off the gaps around the sides, top, and bottom of the door. This will help prevent bugs from gaining entrance and setting up camp.
Security against hostile intruders
Your garage door is your first line of defense against any possible intruders. That’s why it’s so important to close your garage door when it’s unattended. This is especially true overnight or when you’re away.
A criminal trying to actively break into your home would see an open garage door as an easy target. They would immediately pose three risks. First, they would have direct, unimpeded access to the contents of your garage itself. Second, they would have easier access to your car and its contents. Unlike a vehicle parked on the street, one in a garage is not as visible. This gives a would-be thief better cover while attempting to break in. Third, they have easier access to your home itself. Many doors leading from the garage to the home interior are lower grade, less secure doors compared to external doors.
Even if you live in a good neighborhood, the temptation of an unsecured area could prove to be too great for a passerby. They may not have had any intentions of committing a crime. With unguarded valuables right at hand and easily visible, someone could commit a crime of opportunity.
Security against innocent trespassers
Beyond hostile intruders, your garage door is also your first line of defense against any trespassers. Many of us have potentially dangerous or harmful items stored in our garages. Lawn equipment, power tools, building materials, and other items could pose threats of injury. Paints, chemicals, insecticides and the like could also pose health risks.
An open garage gives easy access to these potentially harmful items to children or family pets. Imagine how quickly things could go wrong if the door is left open while unattended. A child is walking by after you’ve gone inside to answer the phone. They see a basketball lying on a table. They wander in and try to grab it, but don’t see the heavy tool next to it and bump into it… It’s not pleasant to think about, but it’s important to remind ourselves of why these safety measures are so important.
The condition of your overhead door itself is also an important consideration. If you believe your door is no longer in good repair and therefore insecure, call us at Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Orlando, FL to discuss purchase and installation of a new door. We have professional customers service representatives ready to help you now. Call today!
