Holiday Disaster Prep — Travel, Cooking, and Decorating Safely

Before you leave for Thanksgiving (or any winter trip)

1. Shut off the main water valve. Most burst-pipe disasters we see at this office happen while homeowners are out of town. A supply line in the washing machine fails, flows for 5 days, and the whole house floods. Takes 30 seconds to prevent.
2. Drain exposed pipes. After shutting off the main, open the lowest faucet (basement, garage, outdoor spigot) to drain the lines down. Keeps a surprise freeze from bursting the remaining water.
3. Thermostat to 55°F. Never below. A $50 heating savings doesn’t offset a $15,000 restoration.
4. Unplug non-essentials. TVs, computers, coffeemakers, small appliances. Reduces fire risk from an electrical short. Leaves fridge, freezer, furnace, and smoke detectors on.
5. Ask a neighbor to check daily. 10 seconds glancing at your front yard catches a flooded driveway or a smoke smell early. Repay with a bottle of wine or a batch of cookies.
6. Share your travel dates with your insurance agent if you’ll be gone more than 2 weeks. Some policies have unoccupancy clauses that reduce coverage after a stated period.

Cooking safety (the Thanksgiving-through-New-Year’s danger window)

• Never leave frying unattended. Turkey fryer accidents account for a specific spike in Thanksgiving house fires. Fry outdoors on concrete or asphalt — never on a deck, never in a garage, never on grass.
• Keep a Class K fire extinguisher within arm’s reach of the stove. Regular ABC extinguishers don’t put out grease fires effectively.
• Lids kill grease fires. Water doesn’t. If a pan ignites: slide a lid over it, turn off the heat, let it cool completely.
• Clear the stovetop of towels, oven mitts, cardboard boxes, and anything flammable while cooking.

Christmas tree and decoration safety

• Fresh-cut trees need water. A dried-out tree can go from candle to roof-reaching fireball in 30 seconds. Check water daily; if the tree stops drinking, it’s time to take it down.
• LED lights only on fabric or near fabric. Incandescent string lights get hot enough to ignite dried tree needles or draped fabric.
• Don’t overload outlets. One strip of lights per outlet. Daisy-chained strips plus a space heater on the same circuit trips a breaker if you’re lucky, starts a fire if you’re not.
• Never leave candles unattended. Flameless battery candles for sleeping-area decoration — the aesthetics are nearly identical.
• Keep decorations away from heating vents and radiators.

Dryer vent cleaning (before heavy winter use)

A clogged dryer vent is the #1 preventable house fire in Utah County. We get calls every winter where a lint-choked vent set the laundry room on fire overnight. Have the vent professionally cleaned every 1-2 years, or do it yourself with a vent-cleaning brush kit (~$30 at the hardware store).

Warning signs you need it done now: clothes take noticeably longer to dry, the dryer runs hot to the touch, the outside vent flap stays closed when the dryer is running, you smell burning when the dryer is on.

If you have a holiday-season disaster

Call (385) 250-2825. The Vault crew answers live 24/7 — including Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s. We won’t ruin your meal, but we will shut down the water and start the cleanup so you don’t ruin your house.

Common holiday calls we handle:

• Burst pipes from unoccupied homes
• Dishwasher drain overflows during big meals
• Kitchen fire smoke damage
• Fireplace smoke damage from downdrafts
• Christmas tree fire water damage (fire hoses do more water damage than fire damage in many cases)
• Overflowed toilets from a houseful of guests