Outdoor Lighting and Yard Safety for Winter
December 10, 2015
Filed under Blog
This is the time of year when it gets dark earlier and earlier, and many people get home from work long after the sun has gone down. It’s easy to forget about this during the summer, but automatic lighting is a real life-saver in the winter.
There are lots of different kinds of automatic outdoor lights, from big security floodlights to decorative ground lights that light your walkway. You can choose from solar-powered units that use a storage battery, or the type that are wired into your house’s electrical system.I’m Beginning to See the Light
Some lights are turned on by detecting how dark it is, and some are motion-detecting lights that turn on when a sensor detects movement nearby. Motion detectors take a bit of fussing with to get them set just right, so that they go on when a person walks by, but they don’t turn off and on all night long if there’s a raccoon playing in your yard. When picking out a light, make sure it says that the motion sensitivity can be adjusted.
Automatic lights are great for security, or if you have a lot of trouble with ice or obstacles in your path, or if you have your hands full when going to and from your car, or for the elderly who may need extra help finding their way in the dark. They have lots of uses!
Water Hazard
Speaking of obstacles, now is the time to roll up the garden hoses if you haven’t done it already. They can be a real hazard if they’re laying across where you might walk. They can be tripped over, or can send your foot zipping sideways if they’re wet. That could mean a nasty fall. Leaving your hoses out all winter is really bad for them, too.
Disconnect your garden hoses from the faucets and let them drain. This prevents them from getting cracked if the water inside them freezes. Coil them up and keep them in a decorative clay hose pot or, even better, hang them up inside your garage to keep them out of the sun. Hoses take a lot of abuse when left laying around (and they can be dangerous!). They will last much longer if you store them away for the winter.Pop Goes the Sprinkler
If you have an automatic lawn sprinkler system, this is a good time to winterize that as well. Drain the system (if it has this feature), shut off the timer, and check to make sure all the pop-up heads are back down where they belong. Like hoses, sprinkler heads can be a real tripping hazard, especially when the grass gets long enough to cover them up a bit. Then they turn into a hazard for your lawnmower, so it’s always a good idea to check that they’re not sticking up when the system isn’t in use.
Do you need help getting your sprinkler heads to behave? Is there a dark area around your house that could use some brightening up? Let there be light! The Fix-It Professionals have got you covered. Give us a call today, and consider hiring us on retainer to stay on top of all those winterizing tasks.
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