The Dangers of Broken Garage Door Springs
You may not realize it, but a broken garage door spring can become a serious safety hazard. Most residential garage doors use extension springs, which expand as you open your garage door and contract as you close your garage door.
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Why Do Garage Door Springs Break?
Knowing why garage door springs break is an important first step toward preventing mishaps. Although there are several reasons, including metal fatigue, the biggest contributor is rust from a lack of maintenance. Rust occurs when most types of metal, especially iron and steel, come into contact with water or moisture in the air. A chemical reaction occurs that forms hydrated metal oxide. This is what you see as rust. Over time, the chemical reaction becomes so bad that it compromises the integrity of the metal in your springs until they finally snap. Fortunately, rust formation can be prevented with regular lubrication. Once every three months should be sufficient to keep your garage door springs in peak condition. This can extend the life of your springs by a large factor. However, never forget that all mechanical systems will fail over time, and this cannot be prevented.>>Related Content: How to Adjust Garage Door Springs
What Happens When a Garage Door Spring Breaks?
Although extension springs will always pose some danger, the danger is greatest when the garage door is constantly kept open because the springs are constantly kept under tension, which will cause metal fatigue. When a spring snaps, it usually snaps into two pieces. These pieces can fly across your garage with a force equal to roughly half your garage door's weight. Keep in mind that the average garage door can weigh as much as an average football player. That can be anywhere between 100 and 150 pounds of force. Potential threats include:- Property damage - Broken garage door springs can destroy personal property as the pieces fly through the air. There have been many incidents where the pieces have embedded themselves in car doors, sliced through windshields and other destructive events.
- Serious injury - The US Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that there have been nearly 30,000 reported cases of serious injury related to accidents caused by broken or improperly installed garage door springs, with 85 of these cases involving children. United Garage Door works to help reduce these numbers each year, but ultimately, prevention is best achieved through education.
- Death - The New York Department of Health recounts an incident where a 62-year-old maintenance worker was killed when a garage door with faulty springs struck the scissor lift in which he was standing, causing it to topple.