An automatic garage door operator is great. But when the power goes out, and the overhead door is down, your car is trapped inside. How do you get it out?

Take a look at the garage door operator on the ceiling. It connects to the top of the garage door via a metal bar. On that metal bar will be a heavy cord and a handle.

With the door down, pull the handle. You may need to pull straight down or toward the door or the operator motor. In any case, by pulling on the handle, you are disconnecting the door operator. Once you’ve done that, it’s easy to manually open and close the garage door if the door is properly balanced. If the door is not balanced, opening it manually will be difficult, and you’ll need to call a professional for service.

When the power comes back on, reset the lever so that when it meets the moving mechanism, it re-latches. You may need to manually raise or lower the door until it meets and latches. You may also need to push the button on the operator to make it move and latch.

Confused? Consult the instructions for your specific door operator unit or seek professional help.