Keep Your Home Safe This Holiday Season
As you prepare your home for winter and for the holidays, keep safety as your top priority when winterizing, decorating, and heating your home. Your holiday activities will be much more enjoyable with the peace of mind of having a home that is well protected. Read on for tips and tricks on how to avoid disasters in your home during the holidays.
Keep Your Travel Plans Private
If you plan to travel over the holidays to spend time with your loved ones, remember to keep those plans offline. If a potential burglar is informed of when a house will be empty, you will be more susceptible to thievery.
Invest in Home Security
Speaking of travel, while you’re away from home, keep an eye on your home with the aid of a home security system, with the help of a camera.
Installed internally or externally, cameras provide peace of mind on a Peaceful Night away from the nest, as you can check what’s happening with just a few clicks on your smartphone, tablet, or computer.
New home automation systems can be customized with sensors, cameras, locks, and light stitches to fit your security needs and budget.
Choose a Safe Christmas Tree
If you are decorating with a natural Christmas tree this year, consider these guidelines:
Keep your tree as hydrated as possible. Select a tree that is as fresh and green as possible. The needles on a fresh tree will bend instead of breaking and should not fall off easily.
Cut an inch or two off the bottom of the truck before putting it in a stand to allow water to soak into the tree.
Use a stand that holds water, and keep it filled to prevent the tree from drying out.
Locate your tree away from fireplaces, radiators, and space heaters.
If you’re decorating with an artificial tree:
Buy only artificial trees that are labeled “fire resistant.”
If an artificial tree comes with lights installed, look for the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) seal of approval to indicate that the proper wiring was used.
Trim tree branches
Speaking of trees, avoid falling branches by trimming them away from your rood or hiring a service to remove potentially threatening branches from your home, sidewalk, driveway, and yard space.
Heating Your Home - Inspect Your Furnace and Chimney
As the weather grows colder, you’ll want to turn up the heat in your home. Whether you heat solely with a furnace system, or with the aid of a fireplace, make sure to have both professionally inspected and cleaned to make for a safe and warm holiday season.
It’s recommended that you change your furnace’s filter that is less than 2-inches thick every three months. You can change 3 to 4-inch filters every six to nine months. And, finally, filters that are up to 6-inches can be replaced once per year.
Look for any cracks and gaps in the lining of your fireplace’s firebox. Also search for smoke stains on the ceiling of the fireplace. Both things can be signs of poorly functioning fireplaces and it’s always a good idea to have a professional inspect the space before lighting fires in it.
The grate that you place in front of your fireplace should be no more than two-thirds the size of the opening of your fireplace. You never want to add too much wood to your fire and may be tempted to with an overtly large grate.
Never assume that your chimney is in strong working order. Hire an inspector (usually between $100 to $300) to scope out the system to give you the green light before lighting the fire below.
Make sure that your fire extinguisher is also in good working order and close to the location of your fireplace, so that it’s easily accessible if the fire moves out of the hearth and into your home.
When you’re ready to light the fire, don’t forget to open the flue to allow the smoke to travel up and out of your home, keeping your air fresh and clean. Don’t forget to close it when it’s not in use to save money on energy bills.
Install and Check Your Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms
To alert your family of dangerous smoke and gas in your home’s air install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms on every level and area of your home.
Affix your smoke alarms near or on the ceiling and away from corners in all major rooms of the house.
Install carbon monoxide detectors in bedrooms and rooms with wood or gas fired appliances.
Test these devices’ alarms monthly and replace batteries at least once a year. Sensors on smoke detectors can fail over time, so replace the alarms after ten years of use.
Clean your alarms periodically by vacuuming out any dust that has accumulated or blowing it out using canned air.
Candle Usage Safety
A candle’s warm scent can really change the atmosphere of a room to give it a cozy and inviting smell but use caution when using candles.
Make sure that your candles are firmly secured in sturdy, non-combustible holders that will not tip over.
Keep candles at least three feet away from flammable decorations, especially pine garlands and other dry, natural arrangements.
Never leave lit candles unattended.
Keep children and pets away from lit candles.
Check lit candles frequently to make sure they haven’t burned down too far.
Candles should be disposed of when there’s only a half-inch of wax left in the candle.
Never use lit candles on or near Christmas trees.
Lighting Safety in and Around Your Home
As you add lights to your home’s holiday decor, keep these tips in the forefront of your memory as you decide what to buy, where to put it, and how to use it:
Select lights that have been tested by a reputable testing lab (UL approved) to be sure they conform to safety standards. You can find this information on the internet.
Keep in mind that even approved lights can become unsafe if they are used improperly or have been damaged.
Before stringing, check each strand for broken bulbs, cracked sockets or frayed wires. If damage is apparent, throw the lights away.
Always unplug lights when replacing bulbs to avoid the risk of shock and fire.
Never link more than three strands of lights unless instructions specifically indicate it’s safe to do so.
Make sure your extension cords are rated for the amount of load they will carry.
Don’t run cords under rugs or across open floors or doorways. Connect lights to a circuit that is protected with a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) or use a cord or plug that has GFCI protection built into it. These cords should also never be warm to the touch.
Keep pets and small children away from cords and lights.
Use plastic clips, hooks, or insulated cable staples, rather than metal fasteners (like nails and tacks), that are available at home centers and hardware stores to hang your lights.
If you’re hanging lights outside, make sure that the system is recommended for outdoor use.
Be watchful of what you have up. If you’re leaving your home or getting ready for bed, turn off all the lights. If a timer is used to turn lights off, make sure it is set correctly and working properly.
Be sure to follow these precautions when using ladders to hang decorations:
When using a stepladder, make sure that all four legs are firmly on the ground. Never stand on the top step of the stepladder.
Position an extension ladder at a 75° angle or a 1 to 4 ratio of horizontal distance to vertical height of the ladder (1’ out for every 4’ in height).
Use ladder pads on the end of extension ladders to prevent slipping.
Use a nonconductive fiberglass or wooden ladder when working with electricity.
Work in the light. Never attempt to hang lights outside or go on the roof after dark.
Unplug lights and other electrical decorations when installing.
Do not hang lights in the vicinity of power lines.
Do not attempt to throw strings of lights into trees located near power lines.
Prepare For the Worst - Fire Safety
Fires result in 3,000 fatalities and 16,000 injuries a year and are more prevalent around the holidays.
To increase your odds of preventing a fire and escaping safely, make sure that your home has working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on every floor, a fully charged fire extinguisher, and an escape ladder handy for two-story home. Also, remember to have your fireplace and chimney inspected regularly and cleaned as needed. Continuously supervise children and avoid their chances of getting in contact with lighters, matches, and other items commonly found in homes.
Strategize a course of action for all members of the household to take in case of fire in the night, specifically routing out multiple routes for each member to take, in case one exit is blocked by a fire.
Designate a meeting spot for all members to meet at and repeat monthly fire drills.
Prepare with Fire Extinguishers
Purchase one or more multipurpose (ABC) dry chemical fire extinguishers for your home. They can be used on all three types of fires: combustible materials (wood, cloth, paper), flammable liquids (oil, gasoline, grease), and electrical fires. Be sure to keep one handy in the kitchen where you can easily find it when you need it, since kitchen fires are some of the most common, and one closest to any other source of flames (fireplace, candles, etc.)
Ladder Safety During the Holidays
Squeeze handle
Sweep from side to side across the base of the fire
How To Safely Decorate Your Mantel and Fireplace
Take these precautions with your mantel and fireplace to prevent a fire:
Never leave a lit fireplace unattended, regardless of the time of year.
Combustible decorations, such as pine garlands and stockings, can present a serious fire hazard when a fireplace is in use so be sure to remove them before starting a fire in the fireplace.
Resist the urge to burn wrapping paper or pine boughs in the fireplace, as their floating embers can escape your chimney and ignite yours or your neighbor’s roof.
Inform your insurer
Reap the benefits of your increased safety efforts in your home. Tell your insurer of every action you take to protect your home and your family. They could be able to cover winterizing costs like stormproof shutters and water flow detection devices. These installations and reduce your premium by up to 35%. Remember that your insurer saves money when you take actions to protect your house during winter and all times of the year.
Take these precautions to ensure a safe and happy holiday season this year.