Toxic Holiday Lights? That I didn’t Know!

Toxic Holiday Lights?

The holidays are all about tradition and maybe your tradition is to hang the same old Christmas lights on your tree or home. Well, maybe it’s time to reconsider that this year? First, of course Santa would want you to change over to LED lights, they now come in all sorts of colors and typically use less than 10% of the energy compared to old incandescent lights. What’s also really cool is that some LED lights can change colors so you could hang them up for Halloween (go orange), keep them up for Christmas (go colorful) and maybe even leave them up for a summer party using a natural color. Heck, you never have to take them down again – the neighbors will love you!

Toxic Holiday Lights

Now to the nasty part that I did not know! Many Christmas lights contain harmful chemicals like lead, antimony and even arsenic. Say What? Yup, these nasty chemicals are typically sealed over, but in time the insulation gets brittle, cracks and these chemicals can start shedding off inside your home. The solution is to purchase lights that are RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) compliant. These should be free of dangerous chemicals. That said, I’m not one to waste, so if you already have LED lights and are uncertain about whether they are RoHS sand still intend to use them, then at least wear gloves and a mask while hanging them outside, but you might still want to get a set of RoHS lights for the inside just to be safe.

Happy Holidays Everyone.