15. Unattended Candles
Although candles can be amazing for relaxation and setting the mood, they can cause serious damage to your home. This may not be new information to you, as candles obviously pose a threat as they have an open burning flame at all times, but they may pose a bigger threat than you think. Unattended candles can burn too long causing them to melt onto any surrounding surface, they can be knocked over by children or animals causing house fires, and an open window can blow a breeze so hard that the flame can change direction and light up curtains or nearby furniture. Between 2009 and 2013 over 9,000 house fires were set accidentally by candles, causing serious financial difficulty to many families. There are so many options like electric oil burners which don’t get hot enough to cause a fire, and they even have flame-less candles that look and smell identical to the real thing–don’t take the chance.