Holiday Lighting Safety Tips

Happy Holidays to your family from our family here at Root Electric! We hope that your troubles will fade and dim, and that your joys will shine bright this Christmas and into the New Year! And if you are planning to turn your house into a festive wonderland of sparkling lights, we want to make sure you do it safely with our holiday lighting safety tips!

Holiday Lighting Safety: Outdoor Lighting

Remember that part in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” where Clark Griswold is out there trying to get his outdoor Christmas lights to light up? Classic, right? Well, we don’t want your holiday to look anything like that, so if you are decking your decks, patios, roof and trees, be sure to follow these tips:

• Referring back to Clark Griswold: remember that scene in the garage where there were, like, 20+ plugs plugged into multiple extension cords on one outlet? Please never overload your circuits by plugging in too many strings of lights into one extension cord. No more than three strings of standard lights per cord or plug, please, or you could suffer short circuits and fire hazards!

• Always be sure to use outdoor lights outdoors and indoor lights indoors. Also make sure your extension cords are made for outdoor use.

• Double check for any bare or frayed wires or loose connections. Don’t use them if they are damaged in anyway.

• Anchor and secure all the lights and wires carefully so that wind and weather cannot play havoc with them.

• Always turn the lights off when you go to bed or if you are going to be away from the house.  

• Make sure all of your holiday lights are UL listed (on the label).

• Make sure never to hang lights on a metallic tree and that all of your lights are far, far away from any utility wires or poles.

• And be extra careful up there on the ladder! Have someone hold it for you.

Holiday Lighting Safety: The Tree & Other Indoor Accoutrements

• If you are using a natural Christmas tree, make sure it is fresh and well watered at all times. Dried out Christmas trees are bonfires waiting to happen! If you are going to use an artificial tree, make sure it is marked as “flame resistant.”

• Never use real candles to decorate your tree—too much of a fire hazard.

• If any of your light strings are frayed or damaged in anyway, don’t use them.

• Switch over to LED Christmas lights this year. Not only are they cooler when lit (which reduces fire hazards); they also use a lot less electricity and will save you a bit on your electric bill.

• Again, check for the UL label on your light strings.

• Never attach any more than three standard strings of lights to one extension cord. And while we’re talking about extension cords, make sure they are well hidden and out of reach of pets, children and anyone who might accidentally trip over them.

• Set your tree and lights up well away from fireplaces and heaters, and make sure to anchor your tree using guy wires so that it won’t tip over easily if there is a mishap of some sort.

• Keep lights away from drapes, furniture and carpet.

Other Holiday Safety Tips to Remember:

• Candles: everyone loves them and we often use the evergreen scented ones to replicate the smell of a real tree if we are using an artificial tree. But they can cause a fire hazard. Keep them well away from pets, children, paper, the tree or anything else flammable. Consider decking the halls with LED tea light candles that replicate that soft candle glow, but without the fire hazard.

• Be careful of the tree trimmings: use only non-leaded decorations and non-flammable items.

• Keep wrapping paper, boughs and other decorations away from the fireplace.

By taking all of these holiday lighting safety tips into consideration as you decorate this year, you can avoid becoming a statistic while enjoying all the season has to offer! Also, you may want to check out last year’s holiday lighting safety blog if you are planning on going all-out with the neighborhood Christmas light competition!