It’s a colder time of year! With a change in weather, it’s time to check up on your home and making sure everything is secure for the winter season. Home security and safety in December mean different things for different people. Whether you live in a snowy climate and need to figure out safety how to exit your home or you’re traveling and want to ensure that your home is protected with a wireless outdoor camera, we have the best winter safety tips for you.

Fire Safety:

With more candles and fireplaces flaming around this time of year, it’s important to remember your basic fire safety to keep your home is safe from frisky flames.

Inspect your oven’s heating range

More baking and cooking for the holiday meals inside (or dropping off to family) means it’s time to clean your oven a little more carefully this month. Protect your family from any damages from cooking by cleaning and inspecting every part of the oven to ensure its working properly. 

• Inspect your oven’s heating element for any issues
• Clean the filter on the range hood
• Clean inside the oven and ensure there is no leftover food at the bottom
• Check any oven seals for cracks
• If your oven has a hood, change the filter

Clean your chimney and fireplace properly

It’s recommended that you have your chimney inspected and cleaned every fall. If you were unable to do it then, it’s a great time to do it now! If you don’t use your fireplace that often, there could be flammable debris and soot that lines the stack, raising the risk of fire.

Examine the flue and damper of your fireplace

To make sure your wood-burning fireplace is properly venting and functions, examine the flue and damper every use before you start the fireplace. It’s important for the flue to be open during your wood-burning to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. If you ever leave the room for a brief period, it is recommended to have an indoor camera to be able to watch over your fireplace. Since security cameras monitor changes in heat with their motion detector, in the situation that the fire expands, you will be notified through the security camera app on your phone.

Water your Christmas Tree

If you celebrate Christmas and use a real Christmas tree, keeping this tree hydrated is essential for keeping your tree and home safe. When the Christmas tree is not properly watered, it can dry out quickly and these dry leaves become more flammable. With a string of Christmas lights wrapped around these dry branches, your tree can easily catch fire and spread throughout the home. Making sure your tree is hydrated often or switching to a non-flammable fake tree can help further protect your home.

Change detector batteries of your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide

More fires in the fireplace and heat in the kitchen means it’s time to check if your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide are working properly. Every year, 15,000 Americans get sent to the emergency room from carbon monoxide poisoning. Since it's a silent killer, it’s important to change the batteries and test it to make sure they are working properly in case of an incident in your home.

Outdoor Safety

Keep up with your snow and ice daily

As much as it’s a chore to have to manage ice and snow, keeping up with the snow and ice in your yard is crucial to prevent any accidents when walking or driving on slippery walkways.

Here are some quick home tips for safety:

• Use kitty litter to help traction over ice
• Use a tarp to go over your card to help prevent build-up and ice
• Purchase snow melting mats on Amazon that sit on top of steps and pathways to help melt ice
• Pick up a big bag of salt for the snowing to have on hand whenever you need to use.

 

Add a Wireless Outdoor Cameras or a Wireless Video Doorbell

A security camera is essential during the winter. From all those holiday packages and gifts arriving on your door to traveling and wanting to keep an eye at home, having a doorbell camera or a security camera to keep watch over your home with help give you peace of mind. The statistics for package theft or traveling theft are higher and higher each year. An outdoor security camera like the Toucan Wireless Outdoor Camera or Wireless Video Doorbell can help cure those security scares and get you started on your home security journey.

 

Invest in LED Lights and check on them!

Whichever holiday you’re celebrating from Christmas to Hanukah to New Year’s Eve, using LED lights is proven to be better for your wallet and home. LED lights do not burn out or are not hot at the touch. Instead, LED lights get dimmer over time. last longer and you do not need to go through the fuss of replacing any bulbs. While they are initially more expensive, they last years longer and safer for your home.

For more light safety make sure you:

• Check your light strands for fraying before using them
• Do not use more than 3 strands together to reduce a fire hazard

We hope you all are staying safe this December and continue to keep up with your home maintenance.  Let us know your favorite December safety tips!