Lighting Safety Tips for the Holidays
If part of making your days merry and bright involves decorating a live Christmas tree, please remember to keep it watered. For best results, water it several times a day during the first few days, and then once daily, always making sure the water level is above the cut line.
A dry tree is a fire waiting to happen. And that’s not on anybody’s wish list. Another way to keep your tree fresh and moist is to keep it away from any heat source, including baseboard units, vents, and registers.
Once you have the perfect tree picked out and the perfect spot to put it on display, you next need to ensure the electrical safety and integrity of your tree and other holiday lights. Here are a few time-honored safety precautions to keep in mind:
- Plug in each strand of lights before hanging them.
- Even if all the lights are working, check each strand to make sure there are no breaks or bare spots in the wiring.
- Replace any bulbs that don’t work with one or more of the same wattage.
- If you’re hanging lights outdoors, use only those lights and electrical cords specifically manufactured for outdoor use.
- Don’t purchase any holiday lighting unless the package indicates approval by an independent testing authority, like Underwriters Laboratory (UL).
- Use only insulated hooks when hanging outdoor lights – not nails, screws, staples, and so on.
- As much as your neighbours might enjoy seeing your holiday lights brightly lit until dawn, please turn off indoor and outdoor lights before going to bed.
Also, the less you depend on extension cords, the better. If your home simply isn’t equipped with enough electrical outlets for all the lighting decorations you have in mind, now’s a great time to contact McKinzie Heating, Air & Electric for all the additional outlets you might need. We also can install one or more GFCI outdoor outlets to help expand your exterior lighting creativity.