By Hannah Haseloff

Candles can be a homeowner’s best friend, especially around the holidays. They can add style to a room, create mood lighting, and make a house smell delicious.  They are also useful to have during those emergency power outages and can help you find your way in the dark.  With the introduction of electric candles, candles are increasing in popularity. But what is the difference? Are electric candles safer than traditional ones? Which is better? Maybe our guide to electric candles can help you to decide for yourself!

One drawback to traditional candles is the fire hazard that comes with having an open flame. Knocking over a candle or placing flammable objects too close can have disastrous effects. Between 2007 and 2011, there were over 10,630 started by candles in the home. Although electric candles present much less of a fire hazard, they can still be dangerous. Small children can easily remove the button sized batteries from the candles and swallow them. It is a good idea to tape over the battery access panel and keep the candles out of reach.

Candles are great for setting mood lighting and traditional ceremonies. In an emergency, candles can be used as a source of light. Traditional candles produce more light than electric ones; however, electric candles still provide a good source of light.

Both electric and traditional candles can be used as a calming agent using aromatherapy.

Electric candles can be placed on a timer and can be set to turn on automatically.

One nice thing about electric candles is that they won’t melt or ever lose their shape. Traditional candles can create a mess when they melt or be rendered useless because of their distorted shape.

Electric candles not only have a variety of fragrances, but can also serve as an insect repellent. For people who love candles, but do not love the scent, unscented electric candles are also available.

One advantage of electric candles is that they come in more variety than traditional candles. Another advantage is that electric candles be placed in areas were traditional candles could not because of the fire hazard. For more candle styling tips, visit My Home Life Magazine Pinterest board.

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Saffron’s Drift Light is here to help. The Drift Light is like a normalAmanda Kooser reviewed the Drift Light earlier in the month. Kooser reports that during the first night, she was highly aware of the way the light was dimming, but during the next few nights, she never caught the light turning off because she was already asleep. As somone who claims to have “notorious” sleeping troubles, this would imply that the Drift Light works pretty well.

Kooser says that since you know the LED light bulb will dim over the course of 37 minutes, it’s easy to plan for the light to turn off around the time you want to fall asleep. The most compelling statement Kooser makes about the Drift Light: “There is something soothing about the world dimming around you. It’s like being a kid with an early bedtime, sensing the sun set outside your window.”

I’m interested to see if this product will become popular. Have you ever tried anything like this to improve your sleeping habits? Leave a comment, and let us know!

Why is a bad GFCI outlet such a big deal? To put it simply, they exist to protect you from electrical shock. As required by electrical code, these outlets are in places within your house where there is an increased risk of electrocution. These include bathrooms, kitchens or outside (wherever water is likely to be present).

GFCI outlets come with a sensor designed to identify changes in current, which can indicate unsafe conditions or the risk of shock. There’s a breaker inside the outlet, which trips when there is a surge in current. This shuts down the power supplied to the outlet and any connected outlets, protecting you from electrical shocks.

GFCIs come with two buttons on them (usually black and red), with one serving to test the outlet and the other for resetting it after the breaker inside has tripped. A bad GFCI is a serious problem, as they are too important for you to ignore them for any amount of time. It is, therefore, crucial that you stay aware of when you might have an issue with one of yours.

In the majority of cases, a GFCI outlet protects you by not providing power. If there is an issue with an appliance plugged into it, the power would likely cut off long before you even get the chance to use it. When this happens, it can be easy to assume there’s something wrong with the outlet itself. But in many cases, its breaker tripped for a good reason. GFCIs are also designed to shut themselves off in the event of a person getting shocked, which isn’t always easy for it to determine with much accuracy. In other words, your GFCI outlet breaker might trip when you’re not actually in any danger.

The GFCI detects current that branches off from the intended circuit, even if the branches are small and harmless. This can include instances of a wire making contact with another component of the receptacle, which can be completely innocent. When the cause of a trip is a passing occurrence, you should be able to reset the outlet breaker with a simple push of the correct button.

Outlets can get worn out and lose some of their effectiveness over time. This also applies to GFCIs. If your GFCI outlet is tripping much more frequently than it should, it could mean it’s nearing the end of its lifespan. This is due to GFCI outlets losing the ability to adjust to changes in current as effectively as they used to. The result is that trips begin occurring for reasons that were never a problem in the past.

If your outlet breaker is tripping every time you use a hair dryer, and it never did that before, it’s a sure sign you have a bad GFCI outlet. If this becomes the case, it’s important to get it replaced as soon as possible! These outlets are too crucial a safety measure for you to delay on getting a new, functional one.