Do You Practice Outdoor Christmas Decorating Safety?
By Kim Cox:
If you’re like many others, getting in the Christmas spirit means the tradition of putting outside Christmas decorations and lights on your Maryland home.
And if you do, that’s awesome! We just want to give you a quick checklist of tips to keep you, your family, and your home safe during the holidays.
- Stay away from power lines
- Don’t use metal ladders since they conduct electricity
- Make sure your ladder is long enough to reach safely, and get a helper to steady the ladder
Use only UL and outdoor approved lights - Don’t get on a ladder if you don’t feel comfortable on a ladder or your roof. Hire someone who is experienced in installing Christmas lights and decorations
- Make sure all lights, decorations, and extension cords are UL approved, and marked for outdoor use (please read the labels)
- Only plug cords, lights, and decorations into a properly rated GFCI protected circuit
- If you put decorations on the roof, fasten them properly and securely. You don’t want to compromise the integrity of your roof or create holes that leak
- Don’t use nails or staples to attach lights to your shingles. Instead, attach them to your gutters with common gutter clips, or to the fascia or soffit with hooks
- Don’t hang anything other than lights from your gutters! They’re not designed to hold heavy objects
- And now that I mention it… while you’re already looking at your gutters, make sure to check that they aren’t clogged and full of leaves and debris. You want them to be relatively clean so they’ll drain water. Unnecessary extra weight and piles of gunk stuck in your gutters is a recipe for disaster
Summary
Use common sense to protect yourself and your family from danger, and your home from damage when putting up outdoor lights and decorations.
And for goodness sake … BE CAREFUL!
Call Kim at 301-368-3551 with any questions,
and Merry Christmas from all of us at
your favorite Maryland roofing company!
On Top Home Improvements, Inc.
10818 Avonlea Ridge Place
Damascus, MD 20872
Tel: 301-368-3551
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