Since arriving on the scene in 1926, electric garage door openers have become a must-have for any modern-day garage. Gone are the times of having to get out of your car in the middle of a downpour to manually pull your garage door open.

Instead, with the touch of a button (or smartphone app), your garage door effortlessly slides open and close.

Sometimes, however, you can end up in a situation where your automated garage door opener isn’t doing its job. It might breakdown or the power may go out. Regardless of the cause, you still need to get in and out of your garage. So what do you do?

You pretend that it’s 1925, and you manually open your garage door, of course. Here’s how.

How to Manually Open a Garage Door

If your garage door is attached to an electric opener, you can’t simply put your hands underneath and pull it up. First, you’ll need to pull the manual release cord. To reach it, you’ll need a ladder or chair. Personally, we’d recommend a ladder for safety reasons.

Before doing anything with the cord, you should make sure your garage door is closed. Releasing the door while it’s fully or partially raised can be very dangerous. If your door is stuck open, we recommend contacting a professional immediately.

Now, the cord should have a red handle at the end of it, making it easy to spot. It’s typically located where the chain/belt of your opener runs. Look up around the opener, and you should be able to spot it.

 Once you’ve found it, give it a pull, and you should see (and feel) a lever move. Your garage door is now ready to move.

Go over to the door, place both of your hands under it, and lift upwards. Remember to always lift with your legs and not your back. If it feels too heavy, get someone to assist you. Once you’ve started opening it, make sure you push it up all the way.

When it’s fully open, you should either place something to hold it up or have someone hold it in place until it’s ready to be closed. Manually opened doors are typically free on the track, which means they can come crashing down.

Once the garage door is closed again, use the lever to pull the release mechanism back to its original position. Your garage door will be locked again.

This process is, of course, a temporary/emergency solution. If you are experiencing garage door opener issues, you should contract a professional right away.

Handling Your Garage Door Needs

At Springfield Overhead Door, we provide a variety of garage door services from sales to installation and more. If you’re in need of garage door opener services in Ohio, we have you covered! These days, garage door openers have some pretty amazing features from battery backup systems to smartphone integration and more.

Contact us today to see what’s available!