If did figure you wanted a more permanent solution, my suggestion was a work around until you do…
@chrisb
I have a momentary virtual switch set up for my garage door. When experimenting with alexa I would say " Alexa, open the kitchen lights" lights turn on, I then say “Alexa, close the kitchen lights’ again the lights turn on. I figured this is perfect for the momentary virtual switch. I say” Alexa, open the garage door" the door opens that part works great and sounds natural. However for some reason if I say "Alexa, close the garage door’ she adds it to my todo list 
A momentary burton turns itself on and then off immediately like a door bell as @JDRoberts and others have already explained. This may be your problem (my first thought. guru’s may chime in). Virtual switches processes on and offs!
Disclaimer: In no way am suggesting the use of Alexa or any other device to use garage doors. I use my regular native MyQ app and devices from Chamberlain.
yea, open and close aren’t dedicated key words for HA control, the fact that some of them work in interesting.
The only ones I’m aware of that always route to HA first are on/off and set.
The fact it turns itself on then off is exactly why I thought close would work. If I say close kitchen lights they turn on as well as saying open kitchen lights turn on. Was thinking if close or open turned lights on then close or open would toggle the garage switch and just seem more Natural. Right now I say open garage door and It opens, I then say open garage door again to close it. I’m thinking echo inturpets close garage door as a chore more then a command and just adds it to the todo list.
On/off always work, I think dim is a key word also but I can use brighten and set too. I’m not complaining was just pointing out that open/ close works for some devices. Maybe others have found other words that work as well?
Playing some more… Saying lock kitchen light turns them off unlock turns them on… Hmmmm
I have never used open and close and not sure it works. For lights I use turn on/offs. Set and dim works for me for dimming lights.
Just found out open/close works on my blinds 
I sometimes wish all you guys lived in my neighborhood, it would be easier to throw ideas back and forth to one another
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Well we do, we’re just a few bits away… ba-da-bump…
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I wrote a smart app that I use with Ubi… it’s a bit convoluted, but it works. The idea is that you setup two virtual switches and some custom phrases and some custom lessons in Ubi. The end result is this:
If I say: “Open the Garage Door” to Ubi, it turns on one of the two triggers… this runs the smart app which checks the status of the door. If it’s closed, the app opens the door. If it’s already open, it just responds with the phrase: The garage door is already open.
This provides a nice “natural language” method to open or close the garage. Of course, the lack of custom phrases in Echo right now makes that hard to do. But using the same app (or a slightly modified version) might allow for something close.
If the Virtual Tiles used for trigger were called “Open the Garage Door” and “Close the Garage Door”, then the phrase would be “Turn on open the garage door”. Certainly not perfect, but close.
So, for those who have echo already up and running… can you find a reliable trigger phrase that is as close to natural language as possible? For example, can you skip the ‘turn’ part? Would just “on open the garage door” work?
My device is “Garage Door”, both open and close the garage door work.
Lock the garage door got added to my to-do list…
I actually tested this with my kitchen lights and guess what…it worked.
Gonna set my “Sleep Tight” to “For the night” and test.
Did not work with “for the night” for me. Might be my accent or the fact that I have devices with the word night and light etc.
if you want your unusual phrase to work then keep using it, and once a day go into the echo app and answer the yes/no questions, “Did Alexa do what you wanted?” . I believe failed commands are examined for frequency and intent.
Last night:
Me: Alexa, turn of the F*****G [unknown device of your choice]
Alexa, I can’t find a F(bleep literally)G [device] in Mike’s profile…
This morning:
Me: Alexa, turn off the F*****G kitchen lights…
Alexa: OK
Wife and I having a good laugh over that one…
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@Mike_Maxwell Amazon is sending you some free soap to wash your mouth… It automatically gets added to the shopping list when you use the f-word when talking to Alexa! 
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When alexa is playing music and my wife wants her to stop she says “Alexa, shut your pie hole” it works! Try it
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There you go… Free soap for you too!
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I have been threatening to create a F___k__G group and put every light in it. Just so I could yell " Alexa shut off the F___n lights " and she would shut off every light in the house.
Amazing how we treat " her" as an actual member of the family.
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F___k__g brilliant…