SALT LAKE CITY — While having a pro install your outdoor lights is recommend, if you feel comfortable doing it yourself, make sure your electrical connections are as safe as possible.
Christmas Light Professionals lead installer Jason Stroup was stringing holiday lights on the Taylorsville City Hall trees.
“A couple of tricks, make sure everything is sealed, that you’re using electrical tape on the outside connections, so no water gets in, and that should help you out tremendously, installing your own lights,” said Stroup.
When it comes to decorating your Christmas tree with lights, Stroup said since these days they’re LED lights, there’s not much to worry about.
Nonetheless, in paying the M&T Christmas tree lot in Sandy a visit, we spoke with a customer who always plays it safe.
Sandy resident Shelby Terry takes fire safety seriously every year when it comes to lights.
“We buy new lights every year, because I am always worried something is going to happen with those lights,” said Terry. “We always keep our tree far away from our fireplace, because that makes me nervous too and we always make sure our tree is very well watered too, cause I know they can be a big fire hazard as well.”
According to Stroup, getting a second opinion from neighbors is a good tell on what to look out for.
“Talk to your neighbors, see who does their lights. If you like the way their lights look, ask who does them," he said. "You’re definitely gonna want to make sure the company is licensed and insured.”
And while the debate never ends over when you should take down holiday decorations, Stroup said there is a point when it can become too late to decorate.
“We used to tell people get your lights installed before it snows, it used to snow before Thanksgiving, which would typically be before now, but as you can see there’s not a lot of snow on the ground right now," he said. "So, there’s still a little bit of time left to get your lights up if you’ve procrastinated a little bit.”
