8 ways to protect your home this Christmas
8 Ways to Keep Your Home Safe for this Christmas
Family gatherings happen all through the holiday season, with holiday decorations, feasts, and just enjoying the magic of the season. What's not to enjoy?
This time of year brings plenty of happiness; it can also bring unwanted safety problems —and nothing puts a damper on holiday festivities quite like an accident around the home.
Here at GoKonnect smart home security, we have put together these top 8 holiday safety tips to help you keep your home and family safe during the most wonderful time of the year.
1. Protect your home from fire!
What better way to get your home in the festive spirit than to decorate? However, these festive decorations can also be a source of house fires. This is especially true for real pine Christmas trees, which are one of the biggest fire hazards during the festive season. Live trees are particularly flammable, especially when they become dry. You can help prevent Christmas tree fires by
- Placing trees a meter away from heating sources, for example, radiators, candles, and fireplaces.
- Use a fire-resistant artificial tree instead of a real tree.
- Don't place candles on a Christmas tree or light an open flame around Christmas decorations.
- Don’t hang stockings too close to a fireplace where they can catch the light.
2. Test your smoke alarms to ensure they are working
According to the Irish fire department, winter is the most common time for house fires. Some of the main causes of these house fires include:
- Electrical problems (including Christmas tree lights) are the number one cause of home fires.
- Heating issues for example heaters are responsible for 44% of all heating-related fires.
- In December candle fires peak and occur most often on Christmas Day.
One of the best ways to protect your home is to have a number of good-quality working smoke alarms. In the majority of home fire deaths, there were non-working or no smoke alarms present in the home. Test your smoke alarm, change the batteries regularly, and replace any smoke alarms that are ten years old or older as it's dangerous and insufficient.
3. Don’t forget carbon monoxide detectors?
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a deadly gas produced by fumes from fuel sources such as gasoline, wood, and charcoal. These fuels are used in devices such as cars, lanterns, fireplaces, grills, and wood-burning stoves, which in turn produce CO, the very dangerous gas that we all know.
CO poisoning is responsible for over 12 deaths and 1,000 visits to A&E every year. Winter is the most common time for CO poisoning, as people are more likely to use heat sources that produce these dangerous fumes.
CO is particularly dangerous because the fumes are odorless, colorless, and tasteless. Fortunately for us, carbon dioxide detectors can prevent this poisonous gas from ruining our holidays and taking over our homes. Make sure you have working carbon monoxide detectors throughout your home.
4. Home Security at your front door
Package thieves are real all year round, but this definitely increases during the holidays due to more people shopping online. Shipping volume increases by up to 60% during the holiday season, providing more opportunities for package theft and porch pirates to strike.
One of the best ways to protect your packages is by installing a home security system- including security or doorbell cameras. GoKonnects Doorbell Camera helps to prevent package theft by automatically detecting deliveries and lurkers with our motion sensor technology. When a movement is detected you can speak through the app so the lurker thinks someone is home. You can also have an alarm set to alert you and the person outside of your presence.
5. Electrical safety is key
In Ireland, electrical fires are a huge contributor to house fires and faulty wiring for lighting is responsible for most electrical fire damage. During the Christmas season, especially homes can be very prone to electrical fires when more people string lights inside and out to decorate.
Follow these electrical tips to keep you and your family safe during the holidays:
- You should read and follow the manufacturer's instructions when stringing indoor and outdoor lights together to avoid overloading circuits or crossing the wrong wires.
- Use LED holiday lights, which are more sufficient as they use less energy and allow you to string more lights together. They also don’t get as hot as incandescent lights, which helps prevent fires.
- Plug your tree lights into a GoKonnect Smart Plug, so you can turn on and off your Christmas lights whenever and wherever you are with the GoKonnect App.
- Don’t overload electrical plugs with too many extension cords, lights, or devices as they can overheat and spark or cause a fire.
- Loose connections can cause sparks which cause shocks and fires. If the plugs move or there is a loose hold on the plug, contact an electrician and do not use this outlet.
6: Always make sure your doors are locked
In December the number of burglaries increases for a number of reasons, for example, traveling during the holidays leaves homes empty and unoccupied so burglars know there will be holiday gifts under the tree. This makes the holiday season even more attractive for theft.
One of the best ways to protect your home from burglaries is to lock your front door simply. You can do this with the push of a button with our smart home security systems In 30% of burglaries, the thief simply walks through an unlocked front door. A smart lock can make this easier than ever. Not only can you set it to automatically lock after a certain amount of time/time of day, but you can also lock and unlock it at the tips of your fingers by using your phone.
Inside, you can also protect your valuables by keeping them in a safe. This is especially important if you’re traveling.
7. Make sure your kitchen is safe?
Would you believe it if I told you the number one cause of accidents in the home was due to cooking, But it’s not just the risk of fires that can put people at risk. Don't get me wrong, we all know that food is one of the most important and central themes of the holiday season. That's why it's so important to keep safe during the holidays
These tips will help keep you stay safe in the kitchen:
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Small children shouldn't be near the oven and stove top when they are on.
- Food safety protocols should be followed- always ensure food is cooked fully through to avoid sickness this winter.
- If using a fryer, follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully and avoid hot oil.
- When cooking it's always a good idea to keep a working fire extinguisher near you in case things don't go to plan!
8. Use home security cameras to keep an eye on your home
During the holiday season, people travel a lot, whether across the world or just into your local town for a Christmas party you need to keep an eye on your home. What better way to do this than with a GoKonnect smart home security system
Indoor cameras give you the chance to check in on your kids and pets while you’re away so there's no need to worry- just have fun!!. The GoKonnect Indoor Camera also has features like 2-way audio, so your family members can easily reach you and speak to you right from the camera with the touch of a button.
A happy and safe Christmas is here
Now after all you are ready for a safe and happy Christmas knowing your home is protected by a reliable home security system. To learn more about GoKonnect smart home devices that can help keep you and your family safe, give us a call at 042 933 3365 today.
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