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While your garage door is one of your home’s handiest features, it can somehow still pose a danger to your family, especially your kids.
As much as possible, you want to create a safe space in your home. For kids, they may consider garages fun places.
It is spacious, thus perfect for them to run around, hide, and play.
If you have little kids running around the house, here are nine helpful tips to help make your garage childproof.
Test your garage door opener
Most of the latter garage door models have a built-in safety feature. The garage door opener detects if there is any obstruction along its way.
If it senses that there is something, it will stop closing midway and auto-reverse.
A fully working garage door opener can be useful, especially if you have kids running around.
Try testing the photo-eye by placing your limb to see if it auto-reverses. Try adjusting the sensitivity as well.
Keep children away from moving parts of the garage door
Kids like sticking their fingers to different things.
Sometimes, they may even look like little balls of energy that gets all over the place.
Moving garage door parts can be dangerous to your kids.
Make sure you talk and warn them not to touch any moving parts of the garage door.
Flip buckets upside down
Aside from your car, your garage door could also serve as storage for your other things.
If you have some buckets, pails, or containers inside your garage door, make sure you flip them upside down.
That way, no water or liquid could accumulate.
It would be very dangerous if there is spilled water near electricity sources and sockets.
You don’t want a watery mess inside your garage, primarily since many appliances and gadgets use electricity.
And even your garage door uses electricity as its power source.
Do not store chemicals inside milk or juice jugs
You must create a safe space out of your garage, especially when you have little kids.
If you let them play in your garage, make sure that any poisonous substances are out of reach of children.
You should also make sure that you do not store chemicals such as bleach, grease, gasoline, motor oil, paint, paint thinner, pesticides inside milk jugs or juice containers.
Kids may confuse it for their drinks.
Look for a more appropriate alternative to store the chemicals. Corrosive chemicals can also eat or melt recycled jugs and containers.
Keep all the keys out of the children’s reach
As kids, they are naturally curious and interested. Their playtime can even create a little dream world out of your garage.
Make sure that you keep keys to your vehicles, cars, or other power tools out of their reach.
You don’t want your kids opening your vehicles or your garage doors as they play around.
Store heavy sports and workout equipment out of their reach
Sports and work equipment such as barbells, dumbbells, rackets, or bats could be quite substantial.
You also want to make sure that your heavy materials and gear do not fall on your kids.
As a safety measure, store them away from your kids.
Store small fasteners in a secure container
Nuts, bolts, screws, nails, and other small fasteners should be contained in a similar place.
Make sure that they are sealed and out of reach of children.
You should also keep other tools such as the hammer, pliers, wrench, and screwdriver in a secured place beyond your children’s reach.
Sharp tools as well should be stored safely from the children.
Build a childproof barrier around your furnace or water heater
If you let your children play inside the garage, make sure that they keep away from dangerous objects.
Make sure you build a childproof barrier that will keep them away from the furnace or the water heater.
However, if you have appliances like these inside your garage, it’s best not to let your children play there.
Lock up small spaces
Kids love to play, hide, and seek. However, make sure that you create a safe space for your kids, especially in your garage.
As much as possible, you should prevent them from crawling into small spaces inside your garage, as this could be dangerous.
Make sure you lock areas such as the washing machine, dryer, refrigerator, freezer, coolers, and cabinets.
