Stay safe while hanging holiday lights

With the holiday season now upon us, chances are good that you'll be participating in the traditional hanging of the lights and other decorations to put your home in the holiday spirit. Hauling out the ladder and hanging lights can be a tedious and surprisingly hazardous ritual. Ladder-related injuries account for about 150 deaths and send some 180,000 people to the emergency room each year, many serious enough to require hospitalization.

The hazards associated with conventional ladders are as old as the holidays themselves, and for the most part, ladder designs have done little over the years to reduce the risks. Our recent tests of newer types, like the articulating and telescoping models found some new problems serious enough for us to judge several models Not Acceptable. Risks included crushing hazards to hands and fingers, ladder feet that slid out during testing, and injury risks when we tried to use some articulating models fully extended. We also found three conventional stepladders that bent under weights that simulated the stresses of climbing and weight-shifting. More details and tips for how to use a ladder safely are available here.

If all this makes you feel like leaving your lights up all year round, think again. Most outdoor holiday lights are only designed for 90 days of use. The wiring and plastics break down over time and can pose fire and electrical shock hazards. Keep a record of when you purchased your lights and don't use them beyond their 90-day life. Plus, don't connect more than three strings of lights together; that can cause an electrical overload. Look for authentic safety certification marks from either UL, CSA, or ETL that indicate that the product meets recognized safety standards Don't overload extension cords. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends not attaching more than three standard-size light sets to one extension cord. Finally, after you handle your light sets, make sure you wash your hands well before munching on holiday cookies and other food. In many cases, electrical cords contain lead, the same harmful metal that's been banned from paint and gasoline. It's long been used to keep the plastic from breaking down and our tests found that it can rub off on your hands. Though the levels aren't likely to be enough to cause acute lead poisoning, especially in adults, it's a good idea to limit your exposure as much as possible. New regulations in California and the European Union are being developed that will eventually limit the use of lead in plastic used to make electrical cords and holiday lights.

—Marc Perton