Why You Should Always Close Your Garage Door in Arizona

Even though it’s big enough to drive a car through, we don’t often think of our garage door as a means of entering the house. In reality, of course, your garage door presents as much of a vulnerability as any other door to your home. In this post, we explain why you should always close your garage door.

Full disclosure: I’ve also been guilty of leaving my garage door open. A few years ago, I was working in the garage, using a new circle saw I got for Father’s Day. I went into the house for just a minute but got distracted with the kids. About two hours later, I finally went back out. Guess whose new circle saw was gone? (What do you think inspired this post?)

Sometimes, you leave the garage door open on accident. (How many times have you pulled into the driveway only to see that door wide open?) Other times, you think you’re just running into the house for a minute. Then the phone rings, the kids want to eat, you start putting away groceries – more distractions than you can shake a stick at. Next thing you know, it’s morning and your garage door was up all night.

Of course, some people choose to leave their garage wide open. Maybe they feel secure because they live in such a safe neighborhood. Whatever the reason, we strongly suggest closing your garage door, even in the daytime.

Even if the door that leads from the garage to the house has a lock – and you’re diligent about engaging it – thieves can tell a lot just by looking in your garage.

First, of course, you leave your vehicle vulnerable. But, if you’re like most people, your garage stores at least a few items. This may include:

• Hand and power tools
• Kids’ toys and bicycles
• Lawnmowers and landscaping equipment
• Seasonal items and decorations
• Seasonal maintenance equipment, like snowblowers and leaf blowers

Then there’s the water heater (in climates like Phoenix’s), and large appliances like freezers. Even if they never set foot inside your house, the above items make a pretty good haul for your average thief.

In Phoenix, we do everything we can to keep our homes cooler. An open garage door makes it much harder to maintain your home’s temperature.

Of course, you also have to worry about what the wind blows in, and even the occasional rainstorm. And during monsoon season, you have to worry about haboobs and hail. Then there’s the damage the elements may cause any items stored in your garage.

Arizona is well-known for creepy crawlies and four-legged critters. An open garage door is an open invitation for them to come on in. Scorpions, spiders, mice, rats, ground squirrels, and much more would love to make their home in your garage. And, once there, they can do some serious damage, chewing through cables, cords, weather stripping, and more. From the garage, they can even find their way into your home.

Don’t forget your vehicle, too. We hear plenty of tales from people dealing with rats building a nest in their engine compartment.

The goal is to never leave your garage door open any longer than you need to. We recommend always waiting until the garage door closes completely, whether you’re leaving the house or just getting home.

If it’s time to install a new garage door, give us a call for a free quote at (602) 680-9700.