Christmas is a time for refreshing our memories of childhood, and exchanging gifts and greetings with loved ones. Many of these gifts contain batteries, the overwhelming proportion of which are safe. We wrote this post to help you have a battery safe Christmas, because not all merchandise lives up to the promises on the label.
Three Tips for a Battery Safe Christmas
“Many of this year’s Christmas presents will use lithium-ion batteries,” says Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Jon Davine. “These batteries pack a lot of power into a small device, so it’s important to choose and use them safely.” Here are his suggestions to help a battery safe Christmas come true for you:
- Make sure all batteries comply with international safety standards. A number of independent laboratories provide this service, and authorize certification marks. These marks include UL certificates by Underwriters Laboratories, and Intertek’s ETL mark of approval.
- Think carefully before gifting little children with devices containing flat penny and button batteries. Most manufacturers do their best by including safety information. Just like giving a bicycle, we should make sure the child is mature enough for the gift.
- Make sure your gift comes complete with a battery charger and cable. Put a sticker on the charger that says ‘use only with (device)’. Make sure the person receiving your gift knows why this is important, and that they will disconnect the charger after they charge the battery.
A surprising number of people, young and old, still don’t know those three simple tips for having a battery safer Christmas. We hear every week of battery fires, and at least once a month about kids swallowing penny batteries.
So lets have a battery safe Christmas by using our rechargeable devices safely. And, when our battery’s useful days are over, let’s walk the extra mile together, and recycle them at an authorized depot.
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