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 PLAYING
IT SAFE
Fruitcake
isn’t the only holiday health hazard lurking in your home;
here’s a seasonal survival guide
By
Lou Manfredini
As the
holidays near, we scramble to buy last-minute gifts, decorate
the house, and plan parties and get-togethers. In the rush,
however, many of us abandon our sense of safety. Who among
us, for instance, hasn’t stood on their tip-toes on
top of a rickety ladder to hang lights? Or strung strand after
strand together until we’ve overloaded an outlet, which
can start a fire?
This season,
I’d like to help everyone be a little safer around the
home. Let’s start with ladders—which pose the
greatest risk of all, especially as we hang lights and decorations
inside and out. Last year, there were an estimated 171,000
ladder-related accidents in the U.S., according to the American
Ladder Institute, which is an astounding number. We’re
not always careful with them, to say the least, and think
nothing of using old relics that have been handed down to
us from our parents, broken rungs and all. It’s time
to put this foolishness to an end:
- Position
extension ladders correctly. For stability, an extension
ladder has to be planted with its feet one-quarter of its
extended length away from the house. This is not tricky
to calculate. If you’ve got a 12-foot ladder, it has
to be positioned 3 feet from the house.
- Don’t
carry a ladder upright as you move it. This is a maneuver
best saved for the clowns at the circus. You could easily
lose control of it in this position, crashing furniture
inside, and smashing windows, gutters and even power lines
outside. Instead, lower it and carry it parallel to the
ground.
- Make
sure the ladder is positioned on a level surface. Don’t
try to use rocks or bricks to prop up one side of it; those
will surely pop out as you’re climbing up.
OK, so
now you won’t end up as a Ladder Institute statistic—but
don’t celebrate with the eggnog just yet. We’ve
still got the lighting issue to address. The key here is not
to overload an electrical outlet, especially if you have only
a single outdoor outlet that you use to power a dozen strings
of lights and a few spotlights. Attempt this, and the result
will be more like the Fourth of July than Christmas, as sparks
and smoke fill the night sky. To do things right:
- Follow
the instructions on the strands of lights. These will tell
you how many can be connected together and plugged into
a single outlet. This is typically only two or three, not
10 or 12.
- Make
sure outdoor lights are plugged into a GFCI receptacle.
That’s the one with the reset button in the center
for safety. If you don’t have one outdoors, have the
outlet replaced or purchase a “plug in” adapter.
This cord system is about 2 feet long and will protect against
electrocution if there’s a short circuit.
One other
thing: Be careful with lit candles. Don’t put them near
combustibles, such as that evergreen spray in the center of
the dining room table. And remember to blow them out when
the party’s over. A trick my wife and I use to remember
this is to that set the timer on the stove to go off just
around the time when we think the party will have ended. This
reminds us to extinguish the candles before we go to bed.
I hope
these tips will help you enjoy a safe holiday season. Happy
home, and happy holidays!
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This article
originally appeared in USA Weekend magazine.
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