It may seem pretty easy, but there are some safety considerations to take into account if you ever need to open your garage door manually!
1. Find the cord.
We’re making it easy for you to find the cord. Look for a red handle attached to a cord hanging from your opener. If you don’t see it, try searching for a keyhole near the motor that may be used to manually release the cord. You can also look inside the garage—it may be attached to an eyehook in there!
2. Pull down slowly.
When using the red cord, make sure you are aware of your surroundings. Don’t have any kids or pets around when you do this, and make sure nothing is in the way (like a bike in the garage). You don’t want to accidentally hit anyone or anything with your garage door as it goes down. The same goes for going up: watch out for people and pets as you’re pulling on that red cord!
As you pull down on the red handle, start slowly at first so that you can gauge how much force you need to apply to get the door all the way down. That will also help ensure that nothing else gets knocked over by accident. As soon as it’s fully open, lock it into place by putting the safety bar back into its holder.
3. Disconnect opener.
To manually open your garage door, you’ll need to disconnect the electric opener by pulling an emergency release cord. But don’t worry! This procedure is simple. Just follow this step-by-step guide:
- Press and hold the button on the wall until the light stops flashing on your opener.
- Pull down on the emergency release cord that hangs from your garage door opener’s rail assembly (not pictured) until you can see and feel it release from its bracket in your garage’s header wall (also not pictured).
That’s it! Your electric garage door opener is now disconnected from your garage door so that you can operate it manually without having to worry about being electrocuted or crushed by a mechanical device.
4. Open the door slowly.
Now that the door is slightly ajar, it’s time to give it a hand. You can use your free hand to push the door up or pull it down. Be careful not to let it go: if your garage has an automatic close feature, the door might come crashing down on you if you’re not holding it tight enough! Again, this step takes little effort, but can be tricky—especially if you have a heavy door. If that’s the case, consider getting help from someone else in your household.
You can open your garage door even if the power is out.
It’s true. You can open a garage door even if the power is out. You’ll need to find a release cord that disconnects your garage door from the electric opener. After you pull the cord, you’ll be able to lift the door manually, but it will take some muscle and probably open slowly.
Once you find this cord, give it a tug and then try manually lifting up the garage door by hand. It will require some effort since you’re effectively lifting half of your house without any mechanical assistance!