The holiday season is already upon us, and that means many people will be entertaining guests, cooking, lighting candles for decoration, lighting fires in their fireplace and all of the other fun stuff that comes with this time of year. We are a commercial property and multi housing property maintenance company in the Twin Cities, and we thought we would share some of our favorite home safety tips for this holiday season.
Cooking
- Never leave food on the stove or in the oven unattended. Always make sure you stay in the kitchen, and always make sure you use a timer so you don’t accidentally forget you have something cooking or baking.
- If there are little kids in your house, use the back burners on the stovetop if you can. Make sure all of the children know the stove is dangerous and they are not allowed to go near it or touch it.
- When cooking or baking, wear clothing with short sleeves or sleeves that fit tightly against your arms and wrists. This decreases the likelihood your clothing will accidentally brush against a burner and ignite.
- Along the same lines, keep all pot holders, bags, oven mitts, utensils, towels and other items away from your stovetop.
- After you are done cooking, be sure to thoroughly clean your stovetop and the inside of your oven. This keeps grease and other cooking and baking byproducts from building up, and it could help decrease the chance of a fire.
Decorating
- If you are going to put up a Christmas tree, keep in mind that an artificial tree should be certified, inspected and flame retardant. If you are putting up a real tree, make sure it has fresh green needles. A good test for the real tree is to touch it – if needles easily fall off, the tree is too dry and could be a fire hazard.
- Do not use real candles to decorate your tree or anywhere else in your home. Always use electric ones.
- When decorating your tree (artificial or real), do not overload it with lights. And do not place your artificial or real tree anywhere near a heat source (fireplace, radiator, space heater, etc.).
- Be cautious when using your outlets and any surge protectors or extension cords. Do not overload your outlets or any of these other devices.
- Make sure you unplug your Christmas tree lights (and any other decorative lights) before you go to bed at night or before you leave your home.
These tips could help you and your loved ones enjoy a safer and happier holiday season!
If you would like more information on our commercial property and multi housing property maintenance company near the Twin Cities, call Building Maintenance Management at 763-541-4886 or Contact Us.
