To get a good idea of why you should always keep your garage door closed, it helps to realize there are only two times when your garage door should be open. You should always keep your door open if you’re using something that emits noxious or toxic odours, fumes or gases, like your car engine or strong paint thinning solutions. The only other time to leave your door open is when you’re doing something that means you’ll be in and out of the garage so often that opening and closing the door every time would be a pain.

Another way of looking at when you should keep your door closed is to say “whenever possible”.

But why? There’s not one single answer. From your personal safety, to being more environmentally friendly, the reasons for keeping your garage door closed, especially in winter, are many.

Benefits Of Closing Your Garage Door

1. Protect Against Home Invasion

The garage is a favourite point of entry for thieves and burglars. But you don’t close your garage door just to stop them from getting in. When your door is open, you give thieves looking for their next target a full view of your garage layout, including the location of the entry door to your home, your security panel, and anything that might be in their way.

If you must leave your garage door open, be sure to lock the entry door to the house, even if you’re home – or especially because you’re home.

2. Keep Out the Wild Life

You might not have to worry too much about them during the day but leaving your garage door open at night is an invitation to at least two types of critters. First, there are the nocturnal pests who spend the evening scrounging for food or a new place to hunker down during the day. Second, there are those who, like the rest of us, want to spend the night in a safe, warm and cozy place. Either way, if you leave any of the doors to your garage open at night, be prepared for some live-in guests in the morning.

3. Stop Having More Mess in the Garage

If this one sounds like not too much of a problem, wait until fall. In any case, an open door gives any windborne debris a place to land. As if cleaning and organizing your garage isn’t enough of a chore already, wait until you have to sweep up leaves, pieces of paper and who knows what else before you even begin.

4. Protect Everything You Have in the Garage

Getting back to the safety and security issue, you probably have more valuable things in your garage than you think. From bicycles to golf clubs, you probably have very desirable stuff, worth thousands of dollars, for which thieves could easily find a market.
To give you an idea of just what you can lose from your garage when the door is open, in winter, thieves are known to target ‘puffers’ or cars left idling in driveways or open garages to warm up in the morning.

5. Lower Your Heating and Cooling Bill

Especially in winter, leaving your garage door open can make a big difference in the cost of heating your home, while making rooms adjacent to the garage feel cold and drafty. And you don’t want snow blowing into the garage to rust anything made of metal.

You don’t have to go out of your way to always keep your door closed, but the more you do, the safer you, your family, your home and all your belongings will be. If you need a new garage door or repair and service to your current door, contact Upper Canada Garage Doors today.