October 22, 2014

Here are some tips to help protect the little ghosts and goblins who will be knocking on your door this Halloween.

Halloween is fraught with hazards both real and imaginary. With dozens of young witches and warlocks knocking on your door that night, you want to make sure that your home is safe. Here are some useful tips for the scariest night of the year to help protect the trick-or-treater’s, your home, and maybe even your pet.

Keep the lights on: Even if you are out of candy, the kids are still going to knock. You are better off keeping the light on and posting a sign on your door, than turning it off and risk a little one tripping on your front walkway.

Clear the front of your house: Put away the garden gnomes, hoses, and kid’s toys. These only serve as one more thing for an excited kid to fall over when rushing up to your door. Make the entire pathway from the sidewalk to your doorbell as clear as possible.

Take care of Jack: You spent a lot of time and energy carving out the perfect jack-o-lantern. Keep it up and out of the way of the kids to avoid any accidental fires. Even on the ground, loose capes and dresses can be a hazard with the open flame inside of your jack-o-lantern. The further out of reach it is from your trick-or-treaters, the better off you will be.

Turn down your heat: This has nothing to do with protecting the kids, but it will help protect your heating bill. All of that door opening can put an extra strain on your home heating system. Turn the heat down for those few hours to help prevent this. If you have a zoning system and digital thermostat you can program it to keep the bedrooms of your home warm while not forcing too much hot air into your foyer area.

Protect your paws: Cats will typically find a private spot and wait out the Halloween festivities, but your dog may be scared by the constant ringing of your doorbell and small people in costumes. Help your pets be calm for the evening by setting them up in a quiet spot in the garage or basement.

Hire a house sitter: If your own kids still need supervision when out on Halloween, make arrangements to have someone at your house. Eggs, shaving cream, and funny string aside, you want to make sure that accidents do not happen to youngsters on your property while no one is at home. Plus, shaving cream is a pain to clean up.

Have salt handy: October in Missouri can get cold really fast. In case ice forms on your walkway once the sun goes down, make sure you have salt or cat litter on hand to dissolve it before a child slips on their way to your door.

Halloween is one of the most anticipated nights of the year for Missouri children. Do your part to keep them and your home as safe as possible, ensuring that it is a fun night for everyone.

These tips provided by Scott-Lee Heating Company.

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