Christmas Light Safety Tips

When you put up Christmas lights this season - or holiday lights during any season - be sure to follow these Christmas light safety tips.

·        Choose Christmas lights that have been tested and deemed safe by a reputable testing laboratory, the best are UL or ETL. Christmas lights listed as safe by these laboratories will note that on the packaging.

·         Try to use the cooler-burning "mini" Christmas lights as opposed to the traditional larger bulbs. The older style burns much hotter.

·         Only use Christmas lights that have fuses in the plugs.

·         Inspect each set of Christmas lights - old or new - for damage. Return or throw out any set with cracked or broken sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections.

·         Replace burned out bulbs promptly with bulbs of the same wattage.

·         Never hang Christmas lights on a metal tree. The tree can become charged with electricity and shock someone. The tree can also short out the Christmas lights and cause a fire.

·         Want Christmas lights outdoors? Use outdoor Christmas lights. The packaging will note whether the lights can be used indoors, outdoors, or both.

·         All outdoor electrical decorations should be plugged into a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). You can buy portable units for outdoor use, or you can have them permanently installed by an electrician.

·         Use extension cords properly. Outdoor cords can be used inside or outside. Do not overload extension cords - they can get hot enough to burn.

·         Stay away from powerlines or feeder lines (these go from the pole to the house).

·         Secure outside Christmas lights with insulated holders (never use tacks or nails) or run strings of lights through hooks.

·         When you leave or go to bed at night, turn off your Christmas lights.

·         Never pull on a string of Christmas lights, it stresses the cords and can lead to fraying. Store Christmas lights loosely wrapped for the same reason.