Stay Safe With Your Christmas Lights

Everyone looks forward to Christmas time, in particular to putting the decorations up around the home and garden. LED Christmas lights make up a huge part of the trimmings, so it is important to make sure they are safe for use before we can enjoy them.

We tend to use our favourite Christmas lights year after year and in many cases tend to forget to check the safety of them. If you have any concerns about your lights, it is better to be safe than sorry, so throw them out and invest in some new ones that would reach higher safety standards.

When inspecting your Christmas lights it is important to consider the following:

1. Always ensure the lights are turned OFF when changing/removing bulbs
2. Inspect the wires and cables for any signs of damage
3. If the lights are damaged at all do not use them! 

One main reason why Christmas lights become unsafe is the result of poor storage. Always avoid storing lights in damp or very hot environments, keep them out of the reach of children and safely stored, and after use take care when dismantling and packing them up so they will be safe to use for next Christmas! 

Other useful points to keep in mind this festive season:

1. Never use Christmas lights outdoors unless they are made for that specific purpose
2. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions 
3. Ensure the cables do not become a safety hazard that someone may trip up over
4. When you are out of the room or when leaving the house or going to bed, always turn the lights out. This will make sure they don’t become over heated and will generally last longer
5. Keep lights away from other decorations or flammable materials
6. Christmas lights are not toys, don’t let children play with them to reduce risk of harm and injury
7. Try not to overload and have too many plugs into one socket/extension cable UK Christmas World have many electrical accessories to help make your Christmas this year a safer one 

When should you replace Christmas Lights?

Incandescent Lights = 4 – 6 years
LED Christmas Lights = 7 – 10 years

Outdoor Christmas Lights should be replaced more often than indoor lights as they are likely to be exposed to wintry weather conditions!

It is tough to know when your Christmas lights are ready for changing, this should just be used as an estimated guideline, if you see signs that they are ready to be replaced sooner, do so, it is better to be safer, spending that extra bit of cash coming up to the festive season than risking the safety of your family!

References from:
http://www.rospa.com/home-safety/advice/christmas-safety/christmas-lights-safety/

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-often-should-you-replace-your-christmas-lights-213399