Getting ready for the holiday season probably includes putting up decorations and lights, which is why it is a good idea to learn how to safely hang Christmas lights outside your home.
Following these steps will ensure that you can enjoy the holiday season from home instead of from a hospital bed.
Prepare in Advance
Before you climb on a ladder, make sure you have everything you need. If you are using old lights, inspect the strings for cracked bulbs, frayed wires, or any other hazard that could make the lights unsafe.
Invest in plastic clips to hold the lights in place, and have a bucket or organizer that can attach to your ladder. This will make it easy to grab the clips as you need them without bending over or losing your balance. You should also create a plan for your lights so you know in advance how many strings you will be hanging and where they will be placed.
Ladder Safety
Ladders can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Make sure that you have a safe ladder that reaches the height you need. Don’t take it upon yourself to modify an existing ladder to make it reach. This can make the unit unstable, which can cause injuries.
Have a spotter with you to help hold your ladder steady, and always make sure that the ladder is placed on level ground. You should never stand on the top step of the ladder. Remember, if the waistline of your pants is over the top of the ladder, you have climbed too high.
Electrical Safety
Aside from falls off of the ladder, electrical hazards are the other big safety concern for hanging Christmas lights. You should never connect more than three strings of lights together, and you should ever use a damaged set of lights.
If you are using an outdoor outlet, be sure that it is a GFCI outlet. These outlets are designed to prevent shock and injury. Should you use an indoor power source, use a strip surge protector, but don’t overload it with too many lights. When you use indoor power, make sure that your extension cords don’t cause a tripping hazard in the home.
Knowing how to safely hang Christmas lights will prevent injuries to you and your family. Making your home beautiful shouldn’t be dangerous, so make sure you use these steps to safely install your lights and decorations. Once in place, these lights will add a little bit of holiday magic to your home.
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Rodney Southern is a long time content writer specializing in a wide array of niches both online and in print. His work has been featured on sites such as Yahoo.com, The Sporting News and numerous others over an eleven plus year career. He also runs his own website on diabetes called Dashing Diabetes. He was the National Call for Content Winner for 2008. Southern resides in Greensboro, NC with his wife, Julie, and identical twin daughters, Valerie and Brooke.
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