My ParenTime | Article - Make Your Holidays Safer: Tips from Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse

Support a Nat'l Amusement Park Ride Safety Act!

Child Safety Book: "I KNOW SAFETY!"

MyParenTime.com's Articles

| Article List | Previous | Next Tip | Submit an Article |

Make Your Holidays Safer: Tips from Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse

Back to Main Article

How to Make Your Holidays Safer from Lowe's 'Tis the season and, as usual, there are plenty of preparations to be made. Here are some hints we hope will help your holiday preparations go smoothly and safely.

Hang Your Lights Without Getting Hung Up

Jumping into the car to go check out the biggest and best light displays during the holiday season has long been a ritual in many areas of the United States. Electric companies rejoice! While most folks have no desire to create a display as ambitious as those featured on the local news, many families do like to create their own personal winter wonderland at home.

If you decorate with strings of lights outside your home, be sure to use only outdoor light sets approved by an independent laboratory such as Underwriters Laboratories. Consider using miniature lights which are more energy efficient. Inspect them carefully. There should be no broken sockets, cracked insulation or frayed wires. Immediately replace bulbs that burn out to reduce the possibility that other bulbs might overheat. Also, read the label to determine how many sets of lights can be safely hooked together in a line. Never exceed the manufacturers recommendations.

Don't string lights along metal objects like aluminum gutters, shaped wire, metal trees or wrought iron balusters. Contact between metal objects and exposed wiring creates fire and shock hazards. Your guests probably won't appreciate it if by grabbing a railing, they're also grabbing live electrical current. Nonconductive light hangers are available. Where light sets are connected together, wrap the connection with pieces of plastic trash bags secured with electrical tape. You don't want water to creep in between the connections.

When decorating, don't forget the potential of conventional outdoor lighting. Properly installed low voltage outdoor lighting is safe and efficient and can be used to highlight decorative holiday motifs. With planning, these lights can be used to cast dramatic shadows or to just glance off featured objects, emphasizing their texture. If you wish, colored filters can be used to create colored glows. For more on outdoor decorative lighting, see How to Create Your Outdoor Lighting Environment.

When stringing miniature outdoor lights or adding temporary spot or flood lights, be sure to use heavy duty exterior extension cords. Using an extension cord insufficient for the job can cause the cord to heat up. Enough heat can cause the wires to burn through the insulation. What happens next could wreak havoc on your home. For the same reason, don't run wires or extension cords under rugs, hay bales, or through the clothing of decorative figures.

Extension cords and lights also pose a hazard unrelated to electricity or fire. Run extension cords in areas out of the way of traffic. Don't string them across doorways, stairs, walkways or other areas where they could pose a tripping hazard. The image of someone getting wrapped up in a long string of lights and pulling a sleigh off the roof and a bush up by its roots may seem funny-unless it happens at your home.

Be Prepared for Guests

How to Make Your Holidays Safer from Lowe's It is easy to think that since the holidays are only temporary, basic safety rules can be put off for a while. Some folks may allow themselves to be lulled into overloading electrical outlets, for example, or blocking doorways with decorations or packages. "The season will soon be over," the thinking goes. "Surely nothing could happen. Right?" In fact, the opposite is true since homes are most susceptible to accidents during the holiday season.

Homes are in greater danger of fire during the holidays for many reasons. For example, a given home may be subject to any or all of the following additional risk factors: increased cooking, increased electrical usage, increased reliance on electrical extension cords or gang outlet adapters, use of trees and greenery in decorations, use of burning candles in holiday rituals or decorations, and the gathering of large numbers of people. This list is by no means comprehensive and makes no mention of traditional winter risk factors such as space heater and fireplace usage. Simply put, although much is going on during the holidays, this is not the season to forget about the need for fire safety. And since homes are often crowded with packages, decorations and people at this time, it is important that exits remain easily accessible.

If you anticipate company during the holidays, consider ways in which you can make your home safer and more inviting. Exterior lighting which reveals walkways and potential obstacles reduces the possibility of injury to nighttime visitors. Driveways, walkways and steps should be kept clear of ice and snow.

Consider Your Pets

How to Make Your Holidays Safer from Lowe's Although it is not exactly true that pets are people too, they certainly deserve consideration. The holidays present particular challenges to pet owners since there is so much for the curious critters to get into.

Animals can become entangled in strings of lights and garland. In fact, a single dog could set up a chain reaction that might wipe out a whole room of decorations. Animals who like to chew may find a heart-stopping surprise awaiting them under wire insulation. Tinsel, string, wire ornament hangers and some holiday plants pose potential hazards to the digestive systems of those animals which like to chew or eat things they know very well they are not supposed to.

Although they may not mean to, pets may pose dangers to guests as well. Small children apparently can't resist putting their fingers into bird cages, or their arms into aquariums. Even the best of birds may bite if provoked, and consider what could happen if a fish startled the child into jerking away quickly-water and glass are heavy, and an upset aquarium could cause serious injury. These are but a few examples to illustrate why pet owners must make additional holiday planning. If your pets can't be moved from the holiday bustle, be especially aware of the hazards they may pose and make provisions to reduce the possibility of accidents.

If you own the neighborhood guard dog, he may not take kindly to groups of strange carolers or holiday well-wishers invading his territory. This may be a good time to keep him chained or fenced unless he is being supervised. For parties during which many people will be in your home, it may be appropriate to leave your pets with a friend or your veterinarian. You may also need to plan ahead to provide boarding for your pets if you plan to travel during the holidays. Sometimes it is just not possible or appropriate to take them with you, and you want to be sure they are well taken care of.

Most pet owners consider their animals to be part of the family, and we certainly can't keep our animals tied or hidden throughout the holidays just because they present safety challenges. But, like children, they do require that extra bit of conscious responsibility. Everyone, pets included, should be able to enjoy the holidays!

| Next Safety Tip |

Copyright � Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. Please exercise reasonable caution, follow applicable codes and regulations, and consult with a professional if in doubt about any procedures. Please read Lowes' terms of use. Reprinted with permission.

If you have found our articles helpful, please consider helping us keep our community online. We appreciate your support :)!

Click Here To Get Your Site Hosted With FutureQuest