House-Sitters and Holiday Guests: Lending Garage Access

Summer is when a lot of eastern suburbs households hand the house over to someone else for a while. It might be a house-sitter minding the dog in Ringwood while you’re up the coast, or relatives staying in Box Hill over Christmas while you’re at the in-laws. Either way, somebody needs to get in and out of the garage, and you want that access back when you’re home.

This post is about that short loan of access: what to give, what to leave out, and how to take it back without fuss. It’s a different job from a permanent handover when you sell.

Work out what access the guest really needs

Start with how the garage will be used while you’re away. A house-sitter who parks on the street and only uses the garage to grab the bin or the dog’s food needs much less than a family member who’ll be driving in and out every day.

A few questions help:

• Will they park a car in the garage, or just walk through it?
• Is the garage the main way into the house, or is there a front door key that does the job?
• Are there other things in the garage they shouldn’t need, such as a second car, tools or a locked cabinet?

If the answer is “they’ll mostly use the front door”, you may decide the garage stays closed and they don’t get a remote at all.

Remotes, keypads and temporary codes

The simplest option is lending one of your existing remotes. If you do, write down which one it is and who has it. A remote sitting in a guest’s glovebox is still a working remote.

If you’ve got a spare that hasn’t been used in years, don’t assume it still works or that it belongs to your current opener. Check it before you leave so your guest isn’t stuck on the driveway. Our remotes and accessories page lists Merlin remotes, keypads and other accessories, and we can help match a remote to your opener if you need an extra.

A wireless keypad can suit short stays well, because you hand over a code rather than an object. Our product pages for Merlin wireless keypads describe temporary codes for guests, and the keypad instructions reproduced on our Merlin remote programming page say a temporary PIN can be set for a number of hours or a number of door openings. How that works depends on the exact keypad model, so follow its own manual or ask us before you rely on it. If you don’t have one yet, sort it out well before you go away.

Whatever you hand over, show your guest how to use it while you’re both standing clear of the door. The same instructions include a warning to operate the door only when it can be clearly seen and to keep it in sight until it’s fully closed.

App access without sharing your login

If your Merlin opener has myQ, you may already check the door from your phone. Our myQ Connectivity Bundle page explains that you can see whether the garage door is open or closed from your smartphone, operate it remotely, and receive notifications when it opens or closes. If your setup works that way, you may be able to see when the house-sitter has come and gone, and check the door is shut before bed. Check the details for your exact opener, or ask us.

What you shouldn’t do is give your guest your myQ email and password. That login gives whoever holds it the same access you have, and it’s hard to be sure later who is still using it. If your setup offers a way to give another person their own access, use that instead. We can’t promise what options your version of the app shows, so check inside the app or give us a ring. If there isn’t a suitable option, a remote or keypad code is the cleaner choice.

A word on remote closing while you’re away. Before you close the door from your phone, think about who might be in or near the garage: your guest, a child, the dog. If you’re not sure, send a message or call first. The app shows you the door, not who’s standing under it.

Taking access back when you get home

This is the step people skip. Everyone’s tired, and the borrowed remote stays in a handbag for months.

A simple routine helps:

• Collect any loaned remote in person and tick it off your list.
• Clear or let lapse any temporary keypad code, following the keypad’s manual.
• Remove any app access you set up for the guest (if you set any up), and check your notification settings are back to how you like them.
• Have a quick look at the door from a clear spot. Note anything new, such as a different sound, a scrape or the door stopping partway.

If a remote doesn’t come back, treat it as missing and deal with it properly using your opener’s model instructions, or ask us to help. If the door seems to be behaving differently, don’t adjust anything or test it repeatedly. Leave the settings, springs and wiring alone and let a technician take a look.

It’s also worth leaving your guest a short note before you go: your mobile number, where the opener manual is kept, and a plain instruction that if the door won’t work or looks wrong, they should leave it and call you or us rather than trying to fix it.

If you’d like a spare remote, a keypad or myQ set up before the summer break, contact Eastern Garage Doors with your opener’s model number and we’ll help you sort out access that’s easy to give and easy to take back.