You may not use it as often, but it’s something you want to have in the event of an emergency. The manual release is an important part of any garage door, and thus, homeowners must understand what it is and its functions.

Manual Releases: What They Are and Why They Matter

Although automatic garage doors are created to provide us with convenience, they’re not always going to be around to save us from having to open the door for ourselves. Blackouts, fires, and other types of emergencies that cause power to fail will usually also cut the power off to your garage door. This means you’re stuck unless you do one thing. The manual release is something you should be familiar with. Therefore, the following includes a few bits of information about its functions and why it matters.

Visual Features

Lets’ begin with the visual features of this mechanism’s release lever. Although this may vary from garage door to garage door overall, the release is pretty uniformed. What you’re looking to is a red string or rope coming down from the top of your garage door system. It’s that color to quickly help you see it if you need to lift the door manually.

The Functions of the Manual Release

The function’s pretty simple. It converts your automatic garage door into a traditional door that you can lift on your own. Although it’s possible for one person to lift it, you should still ask someone for help as a falling garage door can be very damaging. So why would someone need to pull on the rope other than for an emergency? Often, when a company that specializes in garage door repair in Bakersfield begins to work on your door, they are going to switch it to manual mode. This allows them to see where the exact issue is located within the track system.

Why They Matter

There are two reasons why this device matters. One is because it allows you to do certain expensive repairs on your own, and the other is for safety. As stated above, manual releases are incredibly important during emergencies, such as home fires or total blackouts, when you need to escape the home.