Garage Door Safety   If your garage door doesn't pass the 'paper towel' test, it may not be as safe as you think. In a study of 50 automatic garage doors, researchers found that only 60% reversed when they came in contact with a child-size mannequin or its scientific substitute - a roll of paper towels. Most alarming of all, some doors exerted at least 130 pounds of pressure before they reversed - enough to injure or kill a child. Regardless of how new your automatic garage door may be, test it regularly by closing the door on a new 59.5-square-foot roll of paper towels, placed on its side. If the reverse feature fails to work when the door comes in contact with, or senses the roll, disengage the opener and use the door manually until it has been repaired, replaced or retrofitted with an electric eye or an edge sensor. For added safety: Set the force adjustment dial to the lowest level needed to trigger the reversing mechanism. Mount the wall button at lest six feet above the floor, where a child can't reach it. Don't operate the door if your child is nearby and always watch the door until it has opened or closed.

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