If you're like most people, your mornings are hectic, which can cause you to rush out of the house and into your car. In your hurry to get to work and get the kids to school, you might have accidentally backed right into your garage door. At this points, it is important to not panic, and follow the necessary steps to ensure you don't injure yourself, or break the door even more. Here are the steps you should take, if you accidentally back into your garage door with your vehicle:

Examine the Door

After you jump out of the car, head over to the door and examine it. If the damage isn't too severe, and if you can open and close the door with your garage door opener, or your hand, go ahead and do this. If you're not sure, examine all the visible parts. For example, look at the lifting cables and the rollers.

If the cables aren't damaged and the rollers are still on their track, step outside of the garage and press the garage door opener. Unplug the garage door immediately if you notice any bizarre noises or if the garage door doesn't shut correctly.

However, if you cannot get your door to close, your first instinct might be to grab onto the handle and pull down as hard as you can. Unfortunately, if you yank down on the handle too hard, you can damage the garage door.

What If My Door is Stuck Open?

In cases where the garage door is stuck open, it's best to contact a professional to repair it right away. Leaving the door open and unattended is a major safety hazard, which is why you never want to walk away. Once the professional arrives, ask them how long it will take to repair the door, or if it's a lost cause, how long it will take to have it replaced.

Never attempt to repair the door yourself. Garage doors are sophisticated pieces of machinery, and you might wind up doing more damage, or worse, injuring yourself.

Contacting Your Insurance Company

Finally, once you get the bill for the repair, you have another decision to make: whether to contact your home insurance company? If the damage wasn't severe, and it cost you less than your deductible, you might want consider paying for the damage out-of-pocket. However, if you needed to completely replace your expensive garage door, contact your insurance company and seek compensation.

Driving into your garage door can create a lot of problems, especially if its stuck open. If the door is severely damaged, don't try to repair it yourself and instead, contact a professional. For more information, contact companies like Affordable Garage Door Repairs.

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