Decorating your home for the holidays can be fun, but it can also be dangerous if you don't follow some simple safety tips. The State of Home Safety in America survey, conducted by the Home Safety Council, found that unintentional home injuries accounted for more than 20 million medical visits and 20,000 deaths in a single year. The following safety tips from the Home Safety Council can help you avoid accidents this holiday season:

Decorative Lights

 

• Inspect holiday lights before decorating. Replace any that are frayed or otherwise damaged.
• Check for red or green UL Marks on all light strings. The green holographic UL Mark means the light strings should be used only indoors. The red holographic UL Mark indicates the light strings can be used both inside and out and can withstand conditions related to outdoor use.
• Fasten outdoor lights securely to trees, house walls or other firm supports to protect them from wind damage. Never use metal fasteners to secure lights.
• When decorating outdoors, use only those lights listed for outdoor use.
• Use no more than three standard-size sets of lights per single extension cord.
• Plug your tree lights into an outlet protected by a ground fault circuit interrupter.
• Unplug all holiday lights when you go to sleep or leave home.
• Automatic lighting timers can be used to ensure that lights are not left on. These are available for both indoor and outdoor applications.
• If you have children in your home, use safety caps on all electrical receptacles.
• Never use electric lights on a metallic tree. The tree can become charged with electricity from faulty lights, and any person touching a branch could be electrocuted! To avoid this danger, use colored spotlights above or beside a metallic tree, never fastened onto it.
• Keep "bubbling" lights away from children. These lights with their bright colors and bubbling movement can tempt curious children to break candle-shaped lights. The resulting broken glass is dangerously sharp and allows the escape of the liquid, which contains a hazardous chemical.

 

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