Are You Making These 3 Mistakes When Preparing for Holiday Guests?

But amid cleaning the guest's rooms and preparing for meals, you may be making the 3 common mistakes that can ruin the experience for your guests.

1) Getting too stressed out

Loosen up! We know you’ve got a lot going on right now. But a good host/hostess needs to make their guests feel comfortable. And if you’re all stressed out, your guests will see that and possibly feel guilty for troubling you.

Here are some easy ways to de-stress on the go that take 1 minute or less:

• Use self-massaging techniques on your hands and feet.
• Show your pet some love. (Your pets can help lower your blood pressure.)
• Be grateful. Research has shown that gratitude/being thankful helps lowers stress.
• Laugh! Finding something to laugh about can improve your mood, improve blood flow and help you relax. The internet is full of things to laugh at.

2) Forgetting that you’ll be using more hot water

More guests mean more showers in the morning or night (depending on their fancy). That means your hot water tank is going to run out of hot water fast.

So, what can you do to make sure one of your guests don't get a full frigid blast when it’s their time to shower?

First, make sure your water heater has been drained of sediment. Sediment in your water heater is minerals that have settled to the bottom of your water heater’s tank.

Sediment causes 2 problems:

• Takes up space in the water heater, leaving less room for hot water to be heated
• Covers the heating element, making your water heater run longer to heat up the water

Call a professional plumber to have your water heater’s tank drained. It should be drained every year.

Second, advise your guests to stagger when they take showers. Those who are early risers should take their showers an hour before everyone else to give your water heater time to refill and reheat more water.

3) Forgetting about fire safety

The holidays are filled with lots of cooking, candle lighting, fireplace ambiance and Christmas trees. However, it’s all these factors that lead to many devastating fires during the holidays.

Here are some fire safety tips you should follow during the holidays:

• Test your fire detectors to see if they are working
• Keep a fire extinguisher near the kitchen in case of an emergency
• Keep your Christmas tree at least 3 feet away from the fireplace and electric heaters
• Keep your Christmas tree well-watered (dry trees are much more likely to catch on fire)
• Don’t make these 3 mistakes with your Christmas lights

From everyone here at Cool Today and Mr. Plumber, we hope you enjoy the time you have with your family!

Cool Today provides award-winning air conditioning service to Sarasota, Florida, and the surrounding areas like Bradenton, Tampa, and Port Charlotte. If you have any questions about sediment in your water heater, talk to one of our experts for help.

Posted in: Tips