Many homeowners end up using their garage door as the main entrance to their house. As far as would-be burglars are concerned, your garage door is just as valid an entry point as any other door. In fact, they may often come to prefer it, if they believe they can exploit some of its features to their benefit. There are some steps you can take to reduce your chances of becoming a burglary victim.
Keep Your Remote Control Somewhere Safe
First of all, anyone who owns an automatic garage door should pay extra close attention to their remote control. This is just as important a safety issue as it is a security one. Frank Herbert once wrote, "he who controls the spice controls the universe." Well, he (or she) who controls the remote, controls the garage door. If your clicker falls into the wrong hands, it can render your home vulnerable to intrusion. Keeping it on a keychain is a good idea, or at least somewhere inside your home where it can't be easily reached by a small child.
Consider Adding a Lock
This is type of security measure is usually added to manually operated garage doors, as automatic ones usually rely on their opener unit to serve this purpose. Automatic garage doors can also benefit from an exterior lock, providing that you don't accidentally operate them while they're locked. The lock should be used mostly at night or when you’re not home.
Unplug Your Opener
If you're going away for a few days or more, or if you'd like to take some extra security precautions, then disconnecting your garage door opener from the power socket can be a good idea. This will prevent the opener from being used to open your door, which means any code "hijacker" won't be able to utilize any flaw to operate your opener and gain access into your home via your garage door.
A Few Extra Steps
Getting motion sensor lights installed is another good safety precaution, that also offers a little bit of extra safety as well. This will help you illuminate your house’s exterior and will allow you to safely see what's outside your home while you remain inside it. Last but certainly not least, you should make sure your door remains closed every time you go away. You should take into account the fact that a garage door cable snapped or some poorly lubricated garage door rollers may lead to an incomplete closure.
If you suspect something's wrong, or if you'd like to learn about the new garage door openers available today and the safety and security features they have to offer, contact our experts at Garage Door Repair Boca Raton today.