The festive season is getting underway in Manchester and many homes are already twinkling with fairy lights. Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year – make sure it stays that way and isn’t spoiled by taking dangerous risks and making silly mistakes with your electrics!

Working with a professional electrical contractor in Manchester is the best way to avoid mishaps but here’s a few other top tips to help you and your family stay safe over the holidays:

Christmas trees

When it comes to creating your own winter wonderland in your living room, a real Christmas tree is a popular choice. But why not consider an artificial tree? They make a great, long lasting and mess free (no carpet of pine needles!) alternative.

Perhaps surprisingly, a pine Christmas tree can catch fire much quicker than an artificial tree as these are specially designed to be fire-retardant.

If you’re set on getting a real Christmas tree, it’s essential that you:

• keep it well watered and don’t let it dry out
• don’t spray hairspray near the needles as it’s flammable
• keep the tree away from heat sources (i.e. portable heaters)

Christmas lights

Whether it be to deck the halls or to decorate your Christmas tree, fairy lights are a must at Christmas. Adding festive cheer, they look great and are guaranteed to brighten up your home – but unfortunately, they don’t come without risk.

Christmas lights shouldn’t be left on overnight or unattended as they can overheat and create a fire hazard. To stay safe always remember to switch fairy lights off when you leave the house or go to bed.

It’s also important to avoid overloading sockets and using extension leads and adapters as this increases the risk of fires – not to mention causing a trip hazard.

Party preparation

More than 50% of the female population in the UK fear that they’ve left the house and forgotten to switch off their hair straighteners or curlers. To avoid fires, make double checking you’ve switched them off part of your routine before leaving the house – and make sure they have fully cooled down before putting them away.

Are you hosting a Christmas party at your house this year? You can’t go wrong with a festive playlist to spread seasonal cheer! However, if you’re using your laptop or mobile phone to play music, make sure you leave it on a hard surface and don’t use a cheap or unbranded charger as this could become a fire hazard.

Christmas cooking

With a house full of merry guests, you can easily get distracted. But don’t leave the oven unattended for too long. Make sure you keep an eye on what’s cooking from the turkey and stuffing to the sprouts and parsnips. After all…nobody enjoys a charcoaled Christmas dinner do they!?

Call out a professional

Whether you’re wanting to festoon your house in festive lights, install CCTV or add a new sound system before Christmas, the fastest and safest way to get this done is by calling a qualified electrician in Manchester.

If you encounter a problem with your electrics, don’t attempt to tackle it yourself. PNP Electricals are qualified electrical contractors in Manchester who have the skill and expertise to repair faulty or damaged electrics in no time – allowing you to make the most of the festivities.

If you need a Manchester electrician, or would like to know more, call PNP Electricals on 01942 609 511 or email pnpelec@hotmail.co.uk and they’ll happily assist.

Edward Bertrand