Are Your Christmas Lights Safe?

When you put up your Christmas lights is entirely up to you, and we know there are some of you who like to put them up early, while some like to leave it until the last minute. Regardless of when you do decide to put them up, it’s important that you make sure they're safe. The most important thing to remember is that they need to be safety checked before you put that plug in the socket.

If you’ve not used your lights all year long, and add to that the fact you may have been using the same ones year in year out, it’s time to get them checked before you use them again. It won’t take long and it’s not an onerous task, but it could save your life or that of someone you love. 

Look out for anomalies such as:

  • Loose wires

  • Damaged bulbs.

If you buy some bulbs to replace any broken ones you find, make sure they’re compatible with the rest of your lights and are of the same rating as your other bulbs. 

If you have outdoor lights too, you’ll need to make sure they are connected to a protected socket and one that adheres to certain fuse ratings, in this case it needs to be a 30mA RCD.

Never leave lamps or lights that have become damaged alone without replacing them because they could overheat and start an electric fire. You need to make sure that if you do have outdoor lights, that they’re plugged indoors or they’re protected with a strong covering. When you go to bed please make sure you switch all lights off, even those not on a tree and used to decorate the rest of the room. Always make sure that once your lights have been erected both on the tree and off, that they’re nowhere near anything flammable.

Make sure that lights you’d normally use outside are never used indoors and vice versa. Different sets of lights shouldn’t be connected to each other and you definitely shouldn’t switch them on while they’re in their packaging to test them. If you need to change the bulbs/lamps because they’re broken make sure you do it when they’re not switched on with the plug in the socket. 

Here at RML we highly recommend using LED lights because they will work at a lower voltage and are less likely to cause an electric shock, using less power, heat and thus making them less of a risk in causing burns and fire. They’re also less expensive than traditional filament lights because they last longer using less electricity.

RML Electrical - Expert Electricians

If you need any electrical work carried out do get in touch. There’ll always be someone here who can give you the answers you’re looking for. We're a friendly bunch and we’re all extremely knowledgeable, with years of experience behind us. Give us a call, we’d love to hear from you.

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