Electrical safety during the festive season

8 January 2019

It’s that time of year again, when the dusty lights come out from the garage or attic, heaters are likely already in force and electric blankets are probably turned up to maximum in the evening! So time also for some common sense and precautions when digging out annual fairy lights, tree lights, decorations and illuminated house decorations.

Given that many of the electricals and lights you’ll be putting up this coming weekend (if you tend to hit December 1st with all the decorations blazing!) will have been stored for a year, it’s best to do some basic safety checks as you bring everything out:

~~ Firstly, ensure dust is cleaned from lights and electrics – hot dust can cause fires, so give decorations a good clean before taking them anywhere near a plug.

~~ Check all wiring and leads for signs of wear, bear in mind some garages and attics may have resident animals that would eat at cables so check for chewed areas!

~~ Check all bulbs and replace any that have blown.

~~ Ensure all items have the correct strength of fuse; the packaging or a small tag on the plug will normally tell you what this is.

~~ Don’t overload sockets. If you find you have extensions with additional sockets on, perhaps use two extensions instead – don’t load plugs in a pile.

~~ Ensure that hot bulbs aren’t put up too near paper or tissue decorations that could heat up and burn.

~~ Get into the habit of turning off your decorations at night or when unattended.

…so with all that in mind, enjoy putting your decorations up!