If you are like many homeowners, you probably want to get into the holiday spirit by putting up some holiday decorations. However, these decorations can create an electrical safety hazard for you and your family if you don’t take the proper precautions.
Here are 10 electrical safety tips for holiday decorating that you should keep in mind:
1. Inspect All of Your Holiday Lights Before You Hang Them Up
It’s not uncommon for holiday lights to be fragile and can get damaged when they are in storage. Because of this, you need to be on the lookout for things like broken bulbs and frayed wires. Remember that just because the damage doesn’t look too severe, it doesn’t mean you should just go ahead and use the lights anyway.
Even a small amount of damage can cause the lights to catch on fire. You are much better off discarding them and purchasing new ones. Another option is to take them to a home improvement retailer that recycles them.
2. Be Mindful About Where You Are Placing Your Ladder
Many homeowners get so focused on what area of the house they decorate that they forget about power lines. Before you start to hang lights outside of your home, you should look at where the power lines and other obstacles are located and figure out the best place to safely put your ladder. If you can’t find a suitable place to put the ladder, put your holiday decorations in a safer location.
3. Only Use Lights That Are Approved for Specific Areas of Your Home
Many homeowners make the mistake of thinking that all holiday lights are the same. The fact is that many holiday lights are only safe to be used indoors or outdoors, not both. Before you hang your holiday lights, look at the tag on them. If they have a red UL, it means that you should only use them indoors. If the UL is green, then they can be used either indoors or outdoors.
4. Don’t Overload Your Extension Cords
Most extension cords can’t handle more than three sets of holiday lights plugged into them. Overloading them can cause the cord to overheat and start a fire. This is why you should limit the amount of holiday lights you display or use more than one extension cord. Just make sure you plug your extension cords directly into an outlet and not into each other.
5. Put Inflatables and Cords in Low-Traffic Areas
Even though you might think you have the perfect place to put your beloved inflatables or other large holiday decorations, there’s a good chance they can become a tripping hazard in certain areas of your home. If someone trips over them, they can inadvertently yank the cords out of the electrical socket and cause an electrical safety hazard. Before you set up your holiday decorations, look to see the high-traffic areas in your home.
Try to set up your decorations in places where your family members won’t need to walk or have to step over their cords. Also, keep them away from fireplaces and water sources. Do not use it if it is damaged.
6. Check the Water in Your Real Christmas Tree Daily
There’s nothing like enjoying the scent that a real Christmas tree emits in your home. However, real trees can be more dangerous than fake ones. If you aren’t careful, your Christmas tree can dry out pretty quickly. Once this happens, it can easily catch on fire.
Fortunately, you can keep your tree from drying out prematurely just by checking its water level daily. Make sure that there’s always at least a few inches of water in your Christmas tree stand so that your tree will stay as fresh as possible throughout the entire holiday season.
7. Turn Off Your Holiday Decorations When You Go to Bed
Many individuals enjoy their holiday decorations as much as possible and often leave them on overnight. Unfortunately, this can have disastrous consequences as you may not be aware of any electrical safety issues while sleeping. This is why you must make it a point to turn off your holiday decorations before bed. If you have trouble remembering, you can always plug them into a timer that will turn them off automatically at a set time each day.
8. Keep Decorations Away From Fireplaces Any Other Sources of Heat
While things like light-up garlands might look pretty on the mantle of your fireplace, they can catch fire. The garland can fall into the fireplace, or the heat can cause it to melt. To keep your home safe, keep decorations away from any sources of heat that you plan on using during the holidays.
9. Change the Batteries in Your Smoke Detectors
No matter how cautious you are, you may still have an electrical issue during the holiday season. If this issue causes a fire, you must be alerted to it right away. This is where smoke detectors can come in handy. Their alarm will sound when they detect smoke, giving you enough time to put out the fire or get your family to safety.
Just ensure the batteries are working correctly. Changing them at least once every six months is a good idea. If you don’t remember when you last changed the batteries, you should change them when you are putting up your holiday decorations around your home.
10. Use LED Holiday Lights
If you’ve been holding onto the same holiday lights for years, now is a good time to replace them with LED lights. These lights are more energy efficient and don’t generate as much heat as traditional ones. Because they aren’t as likely to overheat, you can lessen the likelihood of a fire from occurring. While they tend to cost more upfront, they may last for years. They may eventually pay for themselves because they don’t consume as much electricity as traditional holiday lights.
Contact an Electrical Professionals
By taking the time to ensure that your holiday decorations don’t pose an electrical safety risk to your family or your home, you can avoid the inconvenience of having problems with your electricity this holiday season. If you need to address any electrical safety hazards around your home, we’re here to help.
Contact an Electrical Professionals
Top Flight Electric trusted electricians in Winter Haven, FL, can address any issues quickly and efficiently. Like you, we enjoy the holiday season. We can upgrade your electrical panel system so your home can handle modern amenities like a new washer and dryer, refrigerator, stove, and more. Thinking of buying an EV vehicle, we can install an EV charger in your garage or outside your home. Also, we can install indoor and outdoor lighting and protect your home with a surge protector. Finally, our electricians can help by rewiring your home with our reliable whole-home rewiring service.
Give Top Flight Electric a call today to schedule an appointment.