When people get ready to leave town for the holidays, they lock the front door twice and forget about the garage. For a lot of homes it is the biggest door in the house, and it often leads straight inside.
The good news is that securing it takes about fifteen minutes and costs little or nothing. Here is the checklist we would give a neighbor.
The short answer
Before you leave, make sure the door is fully closed, lock the opener out from the wall control or unplug it, take remotes out of any car left in the driveway, protect the emergency release, and lock the door from the house into the garage. If you have a smart opener, turn on alerts so you know if the door moves while you are gone.
Step 1: Make sure the door is actually closed
It sounds obvious. It is also the most common way a garage gets left open. People hit the remote as they back out, the door reverses on a sensor or a bit of snow at the threshold, and they are already down the street.
Before you leave, watch the door all the way down. If it has been reversing lately, get that fixed before the trip. A door that will not stay closed is not something you want to find out about from a neighbor's text. Our opener repair page covers what usually causes it.
Step 2: Lock out the opener
Many wall controls have a lock or vacation button. When it is on, the remotes and outdoor keypad stop working, and only the wall button inside the garage can open the door. Check your opener's manual for how yours works. It is usually a button you hold for a few seconds until a light comes on.
If your wall control does not have a lock feature, unplug the opener from the ceiling outlet while you are gone.
Some doors also have a manual slide lock on the inside of the door. If you use it, unplug the opener too. Running an opener against a locked door can bend the door or damage the opener.
Step 3: Deal with the remotes
A garage remote clipped to the visor of a car parked in the driveway is a key to your house sitting behind a car window.
Do not leave a remote in any car parked outside while you are away
If you are leaving a car at the airport, take the remote out of it
If a house sitter or neighbor has a remote or keypad code, make a note to change the code when you are back
If you have older remotes, or an opener old enough that its code is set by small switches inside the remote, that is worth upgrading. Modern openers use rolling codes that change every time you press the button. Our post on programming garage door remotes explains how to reset them.
Step 4: Protect the emergency release
Every automatic garage door has a red emergency release cord that disconnects the door from the opener so you can open it by hand in a power outage. It is a safety feature, and you should never disable it.
The weak spot is that on some doors, the release lever can be reached from outside by pushing the top of the door in and hooking it through the gap. A few simple options close that gap:
An emergency release shield, a small cover that blocks anything from hooking the lever from outside
Shortening the cord so it hangs well above head height but can still be reached from inside
Using the opener lock and a manual door lock together, so a released door still cannot be lifted
Whatever you do, the release still has to work from inside the garage. If you are not sure how to set it up on your door, we can do it on a service call.
Step 5: Lock the door between the garage and the house
The entry door from the garage into the house is often the one door nobody locks. Treat it like a front door. Lock the deadbolt before you go.
Step 6: Use smart alerts if you have them
If your opener has a smart feature like myQ, turn on notifications before you leave. You will get an alert on your phone any time the door opens or closes, and you can close it from your phone if it was left open. Some systems also let you set the door to close on its own after a set time.
If your opener does not have these features, a smart upgrade is often cheaper than people expect. Our post on smart garage door openers covers what they do, and our garage door openers page covers the models we install.
A few more things before you go
Put away ladders and tools that are visible through garage door windows
Ask a neighbor to keep an eye on the house and to text you if the door is open
If snow is coming, have someone clear the drive, so the house does not look empty and nothing piles against the door
If you are leaving the heat low, remember that a cold garage means a stiff door when you come home. Give it a test cycle once you are back
If something goes wrong while you are away
If a neighbor tells you the door is stuck open, or it will not close when you get home, call us. Same-day service is available for most repairs, and our emergency garage door repair team can usually get a door secured quickly.
Set it up before you leave
If you want help with any of this, from a lock button that does not work to a smart opener upgrade, call PJ's Doors. You will talk to a real person at our local office, not a call center, and our technician will explain your options plainly with no pushy upsells.
Call 765-377-1000 or schedule a visit online. We serve Richmond, Muncie, and the surrounding Indiana and Ohio communities.
Frequently asked questions
Should I unplug my garage door opener when I go on vacation?
Unplugging it, or using the lock button on the wall control, keeps the remotes and keypad from opening the door while you are gone. Either works. If you also use a manual slide lock on the door, unplugging the opener is a must so it cannot run against the lock.
Can someone open my garage door with the emergency release?
On some doors, the release lever can be hooked from outside through the gap at the top of the door. An emergency release shield, a shorter cord, or a manual lock prevents that. The release must still work from inside the garage.
Is it safe to leave my garage door remote in the car?
Not if the car is parked outside. Anyone who gets into the car has a way into your garage. Take the remote with you, or keep it in a car parked inside the garage.
What is the lock button on my garage door wall control?
Many wall controls have a lock or vacation mode that turns off the remotes and outdoor keypad. When it is on, only the button inside the garage will open the door. Check your opener's manual for how to turn it on.
Can I check my garage door from my phone while I am traveling?
Yes, if you have a smart opener or a smart add-on like myQ. You will get alerts when the door opens or closes, and you can close it from anywhere you have a signal. We install and set up smart openers across Richmond, Muncie, and the surrounding area.