Do you have a garage door opener? Most of the newer ones are equipped with a safety feature, so that if something or someone goes under the door while it is closing, the door will reverse its direction and go back up.

For example: You just came home with the kids, and push the button to close the garage door. One of your kids decides to go outside instead of coming indoors, and walks under the garage door which is closing.  The garage door sensors detect this, and the door will stop closing, and reverse its direction to go back up.  This is a great safety feature. 

However, what if your garage door goes back up, and there aren’t any kids or pets in sight? You’d be surprised at what can trigger the sensor.

First, check to see if anything is blocking the door from closing. Sometimes, a child’s ball could have rolled into the path.

Next, check the sensors. There should be one on each side of the door.  Clear the sensor glass to confirm all debris has been removed.  We’ve done this quickly with our finger.  Other times, we’ve taken a dry paper towel to clear the area.  Anything can set off the sensor: spider webs, a leaf, or even drifting snow.

If these options don’t correct the problem, it’s time to do additional detective work. Something is clearly causing the door to reopen.  You’ll need to look around very carefully, and watch the door in action.  How far down will the door go before it reopens?  Is it getting stuck in the same spot?

One time, we had a leaf stuck to the bottom of our garage door. Every time the door was almost closed, the leaf that was sticking out would trip the sensor and cause the door to go back up. 

Just be careful when the door stops in mid-air. You don’t want to be under it, just in case it decides to close.

Good luck with your garage door. Let us know if this information helped you with your garage door issue by leaving a comment.  We’d love to hear from you.