Making Sure Your Christmas Tree is Safe

The Christmas holiday season is a joyous affair with friends and family. Safety is hardly a concern and the lack thereof can easily turn a lovely time in a disastrous event, especially with an unsafe Christmas tree.

The two most popular concerns relating to Christmas tree safety involves fire and tipping over of trees.

Most people regard Christmas trees the center of attraction during Christmas time. However, with a lack of proper caution, the same Christmas tree can pose a huge fire risk. The same mystical Christmas tree is responsible for in excess of 400 residential fires each year, resulting in almost 40 fatalities, and a minimum of 100 serious injuries.

It is easy to make sure your Christmas does not go up in smoke due to the tree. The first step would be to make sure that the tree is still fresh and that the needles are green and still sturdy with s little bit of sticky tree glue or sap visible on the trunk. A worn down, dried out tree is very dangerous and does not look good either. Therefore, make sure that your Christmas tree is watered regularly and stays healthy. This alone helps to reduce the risk of fires significantly.

Another measure you can take is to make use of a fire resistant artificial Christmas tree. Many artificial trees are already fitted with decorations including lights. These specific trees normally have been tested by the Underwriters Laboratory for safety and if used according to instructions, you can rest assured that you have a risk free Christmas tree.

In the event where you will decorate your tree with lights, make sure you drape the tree with UL certified lights. In addition it is important to make sure that all the light strands are free from damaged sockets or damaged or naked wiring. Make sure that you use lights made for indoor purposes on your Christmas tree and not lights made for outdoor purposes. Never use damaged strands to decorate your tree and always keep burning candles far away of the tree.

Electrical fires are equally frequent during Christmas time. Make sure to stick to the basic electrical rules, do not place the tree close to appliances or loose wires, and do not overload the power socket to accommodate all the lights. There should be no more than 3 light strands on a socket. Always turn off the tree lights when you are not at home and during the night.

Trees that fall over are the second Christmas tree related risk. To prevent Christmas trees from falling over, place them in areas where there are not many traffic or on a place where it can obstruct the normal traffic flow. A proper tree stand that is capable of supporting the size of the tree is very important.

Check that the tree is suitably secured in the stand before you start to attach decorations. Never lean against the tree to attach decorations. Rather use a small ladder, stepping stool, or sturdy chair to reach the high parts of the tree. With all that said, all that is left is to secure the shining star on the top of your safe Christmas tree.