Holiday Light Safety

11/17/2020 (Permalink)

Commercial Christmas Lights

The holidays are here, and everyone is excited to start decorating. People are putting up Christmas trees, decorations, and hanging up lights throughout the house. With all the excitement, safety precautions are often forgotten. Here are a few things you may not think of, but should consider when decorating for your holiday season.

- Inspect each set of lights, even if they are new. Check for broken or cracked sockets, loose connections, or frayed wires. Discard any damaged cords.

- Plug in and inspect the lights before hanging them up.

- Make sure your lights have the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) label on them.

- Watch young children around lights and decorations, as they can easily grab and swallow them.

- Unplug all decorative lights, such as the Christmas tree, and the outdoor decorative lighting, before leaving the house or going to bed.

- If you buy an artificial tree, make sure that it has the flame-resistant label on it.

- When shopping for lights, choose LED. They last longer, and the bulbs don’t get hot to the touch.

- When using an extension cord for your outdoor lighting, use a 3 prong grounded extension with a UL label.

- Never overload outlets or extension cords.

- Cords need to stay out of water, and away from metal objects.

- Before using an extension cord, make sure the cord is fully uncoiled.

- Never place extension cords under rugs and doors or through windows where they can get pinched.

There’s a lot to look for when inspecting Christmas decorations, but taking that extra couple of minutes could help prevent an accident from happening.