The holiday season is finally upon us, and that means that you’ll be decorating your home. This year you’ll need a little more festive cheer than ever, and so you’ll be tempted to put up even more decorations and lights to make things beautiful.

With those decorations though, comes the extra risk of fire and electrical hazards. You need to be sure you’re using them correctly, to keep you and your family safe this year.

Here are some tips to ensure you’re decorating safely.

1. Never Overload Plug Sockets and Extensions 

You’ve got to power all those lights, and that means plugging them in somewhere in your home. If you’re planning to go all out on lights, you’ll need to plan where you’ll plug them in. You don’t want to use too many lights in the same outlet or extension cord, as this would put you at risk of an electrical fire.

Also, remember that you will have more things plugged in if you’re still working from home.

As a rule of thumb, try not to have any more than three strings of lights plugged into the same outlet or extension cord. This will allow you to have those beautiful lights, without the added risks.

2. Use the Right Lights in the Right Areas

This tip may seem obvious, but it does need to be said. Make sure you’re using the right lights in the right areas of your home.

If you want to put lights outdoors, make sure you’re using lights that are rated to be used outdoors. This will ensure that they can be safely used outside and will be insulated against the elements. If you use regular indoor lights for outdoors, then they could create multiple electrical hazards when they come into contact with the weather.

3. Check Decorations For Safety

All holiday decorations should be tested for safety. When you’re buying decorations, look for a label denoting that they have been tested. You should see a label from an independent testing laboratory such as United Laboratories (UL) or Intertek (ETL). If you don’t see this label, don’t buy the decoration as it won’t have been tested for electrical safety.

4. Keep Flammable Items Away From the Fire

During the holidays, the fireplace is one of the places we love to decorate. Decking it out in garlands and stockings is always a lot of fun, but you need to be sure that they’re not causing a fire hazard.

When decorating, keep them as far away from heat sources as possible. That means no stockings hanging in front of the fire, or anything too close to a heater or similar device.

The NFPA say that half of home fires during the holidays are caused by flammable items being too close to heat sources. Be careful, and ensure that nothing is too close to the fire this season.

5. Buy the Freshest Christmas Tree

If you like to pick up a real Christmas tree every year, then you need to have fire safety in mind. A tree in your home will be a fire risk if you’re not taking care of it. After all, you’re going to load it up with lights and all manner of decorations. You should always be careful.

The best way to minimize the risk is to buy the freshest tree possible. Look for a tree that has green needles that are hard to pull off, and bend instead of breaking. When you get it home, cut the bottom at a 45 degree angle, and water it daily. If you let the tree dry out, it’ll be a fire risk, so avoid that if at all possible.

6. Look For a Fire Retardant Tree

What if you’re buying an artificial tree instead? These are also a fire risk if you buy the wrong type, so look at the labels when you’re shopping around. Just like most decorations, you need an assertion that the tree has been tested and will be safe to use. This is especially true if you’re buying a tree with lights built in.

When comparing trees, check that your tree is labeled as ‘fire retardant’. This doesn’t mean that the tree is guaranteed not to catch fire, but it will ensure that it resists burning, and will be easy to put out if a fire does break out.

7. Turn the Lights Off

Even though your holiday lights are bright and cheerful, you don’t want them on all the time. For one, it will run up your electrical bills more than they already are, since you’re working from home. Plus, when they’re on all the time, they will overheat and become a fire hazard.

The best thing to do is turn off the lights whenever you’re not home, or when you’re sleeping. Get in the habit of unplugging everything when you leave the house or go to bed, and you should be safe.

8. Pack Away Your Lights

Once the season is over, you’ll need to put your lights away. When you do so, make sure that you’re putting them in well sealed containers. Those boxes will often go into attics or basements, two areas that are well known for moisture problems. If that moisture gets into your lights, that’s going to cause a lot of problems for you next year.

Also, you need to remember that pests, like mice, could get into the box. They will gnaw at everything, including your lights. If there are bite marks in your lights and you don’t realize it, that can cause electrical hazards when you get them out next year, too. Seal the boxes properly to ensure nothing can get in.

Conclusion

With these tips, you should be able to keep your home safe during the holiday season. You don’t want to create electrical hazards, which then can start an electrical fire, so follow the advice listed here. Be careful with your lights and electrical decorations, and you should be able to avoid any problems this year. Happy Holidays!