Christmas Safety Tips

With Christmas only around the corner it’s easy to forget the safety aspects, especially when you have young children. However, it’s important to keep this in mind so your Christmas doesn’t bring any nasty surprises over the festive period. We’ll be looking at Christmas safety tips and what you can do to keep your family safe this holiday time.

Real tree vs a fake tree.

A real tree, if you’re having one, will catch fire very quickly, so it pays to ensure that it’s safe. Because it’s not fireproof as fake ones are it’s more prone to burning. 

A real tree needs to be watered.

Always remember to keep your tree watered well over the festive period as they can absorb a lot of water, as much as a litre a day. Also, never spray your tree with anything like hairspray or similar because this can be extremely flammable. You may think you’re doing it simply to keep the pine needles from dropping off, but you would only be creating a fire hazard.

Keeping fir trees away from naked flames, fires and heaters.

Keep your tree away from heaters and open fires, and always check lights before you place them on the tree. Check for dud lights that are no longer working and look carefully at the sockets and the cables to make sure they’re not loose or have exposed wiring.

Switch everything off before you go out.

Before you go out for parties and Christmas dinners remember to switch all hair appliances off and anything else you might use for your hair, body or appliances for clothes. Leaving them on could cause a fire when you’re out.

Switch lights off when you’re out so they don’t overheat.

Make sure you switch your christmas lights off, and that includes any others in the house. They could heat up and start a fire very quickly, and if you’re out, then there’s more chance it’ll take your entire house down. Give them a break, and switch them off if you’re not there to see them, that way, you’ll be able to enjoy them when you are. 

Christmas lights and all the things.

It’s tempting that when you have lots of lights and Christmassy things to switch on, watch and listen to, that you overload the sockets in an effort to accommodate everything, if you do this you could cause a serious fire hazard. Don’t overload any sockets and keep your home safe.

Don’t leave things to charge unattended.

Don’t leave things to charge when you’re not present - especially if you’re going on a visit over the Christmas break. Some adaptors can become a fire risk if they’re overheated, so it’s unwise to leave them on unsupervised.

Cooking should be watched until it’s ready.

It goes without saying that you should never leave cooking unattended and Christmas is no different. It’s easy to be distracted, after all we’ve all got so many distractions to consider what with all the presents and extra visitors. Don’t leave anything to boil dry and anything in a pan with oil should be pulled away from the hob if you’re not going to be around to keep an eye on it. 

Chargers and adaptors.

Always use the right chargers and adaptors too because by using the wrong one you could cause a fire. If you use e-cigarettes, use them outside where possible and charge them via a suitable charger that is right for your particular e-cigarette.

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If you have any questions about what we’ve talked about then you can contact us, we’re always here to help. All our electricians are trained, qualified and experienced with the right kind of expertise to answer all your queries and solve all your electrical problems.