Undeck the Halls With Care
When the holiday parties are over and it's time to undeck the halls, pack your decorations carefully so they'll stay safe in storage and operate safely when you unpack them next year.
Here are a few post-holiday precautions:
- Burn your holiday lights for no more than 90 days. Manufacturers recommend the products only for temporary, not year-round, use.
- Don't yank plugs from electrical outlets by the cord. Pull on the gripping area instead. Tugging on the cord can damage the wire and insulation and could lead to an electrical shock or fire.
- When putting away electrical light strings, take time to inspect for flaws. Check each light set for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires and loose connections.
- Replace worn or broken light sets. Do not place a faulty set of lights back into the storage box for next year’s use.
- Store electrical decorations away from children and pets to ensure that cords are not disturbed.
- Never store electrical decorations near water or in a place where they could possibly be immersed in water. This could cause electric shock upon reuse.
- Separate outdoor decorations from indoor decorations, and label them accordingly. Using indoor decorations can be hazardous because they may not be sufficiently water resistant.
- Throw away used gift wrap. Don't burn it in the fireplace, as the paper could easily ignite and cause a flash fire. Never burn evergreens, including wreaths, in the fireplace. The flames can flare out of control and send sparks flying about the room or up the chimney and onto the roof. Recycle greenery or discard it with household trash.
- When discarding evergreen trees for the season, steer clear of burning fireplaces and operating radiators and space heaters. Dry evergreens can easily ignite and burn out of control.
If you don't own a smoke alarm, consider taking advantage of post-holiday sales and equipping your home with an up-to-date model. Install at least one smoke alarm on every level of your home and near all sleeping areas. Test them monthly and change the batteries once a year.