Top 10 Holiday Safety Tips For THe Holiday

The Top 10 Home Safety Tips for the Holidays

The holidays are here and keeping your family safe in your home is important. While in Florida, we haven’t seen the temperatures dip below 40 degrees just yet, we know that electric consumption increases dramatically during the holidays with extra Christmas lights hung, space heaters plugged in, and fireplaces ablaze. Keeping these home safety tips handy will help prevent accidents or mishaps. 

Here are 10 home safety tips for you and any visiting loved ones to keep in mind. 

10 Holiday Safety Tips

  1. Check your smoke detectors
    • House fires are widespread during the holidays because of things like string lights, candle accidents, and unattended cooking food. Ensuring that you have reliable, working smoke detectors will let you know immediately if something begins smoking and help you avoid any fires. 
  2. Add double-sided tape to area rugs to avoid trip hazards 
    • The edges and corners of area rugs present a trip hazard, especially for older people. To keep everyone safe when visiting your home, adding double-sided tape to your area rugs can prevent anyone from tripping over them and being injured.
  3. Keep all walkways clear of clutter 
    • The holidays are meant to be spent relaxing with and enjoying your loved ones. The last thing you want is for a serious injury to occur. To avoid any accidents, keep your hallways and walkways clear of clutter so that people can move freely and avoid tripping over or running into anything.
  4. Check the screws of your table and chairs 
    • While this is not something most people would think of, it can prevent any falling accidents or hot food spills. Sometimes the screws on tables and chairs can become loosened over time. If someone were to sit on a chair with a loose screw, they could fall and get seriously hurt. Another concern is setting hot food on a table and the table collapses sending hot food everywhere. Checking the screws and bolts can ensure that they are tightened and safe for use.
  5. When putting up lights, use flame-resistant strands 
    • It’s about this time of year that everyone begins to hang lights outside of their homes. To avoid fire hazards, be sure to use lights on flame-resistant strands. 
  6. Never leave your kitchen unattended while cooking 
    • We’ve all seen holiday movies where someone leaves the turkey in the oven too long and the oven catches fire. To avoid kitchen fires, make sure someone is always present in the kitchen to keep an eye on the food. Many house fires could be avoided if people make sure to not leave food unattended. 
  7. Ensure your ladder is safe before putting up decorations 
    • Everyone likes to have a lovely and comfortable home for the holidays with festive decorations. Be sure to check your ladder’s integrity before using it to put up decorations to avoid falling. 
  8. Remove any fire hazards 
    • Like many tips on this list, fire safety is key not only during the holidays but also year-round. Keep the areas surrounding candles clear and be sure to blow them out after use. Frequently attend to your fireplace when a fire is going. 
  9. Always keep a fire extinguisher on hand 
    • Unfortunately, things happen, and fires may start. To quickly put out a fire, always keep a fire extinguisher at an easy-to-reach place and ready to go. Make sure you are trained in how to use it properly.
  10. Keep hazardous items away from kids and pets 
    • Keep sharp knives, hot plates, broken ornaments, or any other hazardous item away from your children and pets to keep them safe. 

The holidays are meant to be a peaceful, stress-free time for everyone. Keeping everyone safe and happy is the most important thing you can do. If you have any structural concerns, be sure to give your local professionals at Check Twice Home Inspections a call to schedule a home inspection.
Check Twice Home Inspections, a family-owned and operated business by Wayne & Patsy Rogers, has been serving the Lakeland and Polk County communities for over 4 years. If you would like to speak to a licensed inspector, please contact us at info@checktwice.net or call us at 863-999-2172.