Holiday Decorating Safety Tips

Christmas is an exciting time to decorate.  It brings with it hot cocoa, snowmen, and a beautifully twinkling neighbourhood filled with holiday lighting displays.  Unfortunately, decorating can also bring some potential dangers.  Make sure that your Christmas stays safe so you can enjoy the holidays and your holiday lighting system without risk. 

Check safety tests
Make sure your holiday lighting installations have been safety tested by a qualified and recognized lab and have met all safety standards for Christmas lights.  Look for the stamp of approval on the box.  If the lights you're purchased don't have the safety test approval, find a different kind to avoid risk of fires.

Always make sure the lights you are using are exterior light strands.  Interior strands don't always have the same measures to hold out against adverse weather, including heavy snowstorms.  The lights should be heavy, and sturdy.  Sub-standard products (and they do exist out there!) will be lighter, and flimsier.  Never use more than three standard-size strands for one exterior extension cord. 

Broken bulbs?  Time to get a new set
Never put up lights that have broken or burnt out bulbs, frayed or bare wires, or loose wire connections.  If your Oakville holiday lighting display has any of these problems, replace or repair the strands immediately before hanging them up.  Replace burnt out bulbs with bulbs of the same wattage.  Not only will this be much safer for you and your family, but it will also look much more beautiful on the eaves troughs. 

Routinely check your light strings throughout the holiday season for weather damage that may have occurred.  Replace any strands that have become damaged, or bulbs that have burnt out.

Protect your holiday lighting installations from weather
Make sure that your holiday lighting systems are firmly attached to the trees, eaves, porch, or whatever they are mounted to.  This will protect your lights from wind damage. 

If you don't have the hooks available for stringing lights, use insulated staples to hold the strings of lighting in place.  Never use nails or tacks. 

If you really want to increase your safety, and your savings, look for LED.  These bulbs don't have glass or filaments, making them that much durable and safer in heavy winds or snowstorms.  To further contribute to their effectiveness, LEDs do not give off huge waves of heat.  This will reduce the chances of a fire starting in your home.  As an added benefit, LEDs are better for the environment and save you money in energy bills.

Use a timer
Take the hassle out of turning lights on and off with Christmas Décor's timer systems.  This will increase the safety of your home, and help reduce your energy bill.  If you hire Christmas Décor, our timer will make sure your lights are turned off each night, so you no longer have to worry about the danger of fires if you forget to turn your holiday lighting system off. 

What are the stats?
Don't believe the dangers of the seemingly innocent holiday lights?  Research has been conducted that shows that there are 29 deaths from residential fires every year between November 1 and January 31.  In fact, during the 2007/2008 holiday season, 40 people died from 33 residential fires in Ontario alone.   

As you can see, holiday lighting systems can bring potential dangers to your home.  Don't risk trouble – trust the professionals.  Contact Christmas Décor Oakville before December to book your holiday lighting installations to beat the Christmas rush.