Be safe and save energy on Thanksgiving

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Thanksgiving is right around the corner and if you are planning to make a turkey, get that bird out of the freezer and into the refrigerator about two to three days early to allow it to properly thaw.

Now is also good time to think of your and your family’s safety as well as saving money.

Holidays and festivities are coming up soon and an injury, death or damage during those celebrations is not a part of anyone’s plans.

Woodburn Fire Chief Bob Skipper said never put a frozen turkey into hot frying oil. Doing so mixes water and oil and creates a dangerous situation for anyone nearby.

“Don’t leave your food while it’s cooking. Stay in the kitchen. Keep an eye on it. It’s too easy to get distracted and forget that you’re cooking and leave something on the stove and for it to burn. For Thanksgiving especially, people like to fry their turkeys. And they really should not do that in the house, in the garage or even on a deck that’s connected to the to the house,” said Skipper.

That hot oil can also spill over onto nearby surfaces and catch fire.

Salley Lowe with Bowling Green Municipal Utilities said you can also save energy by turning your heat down while cooking and right before a gathering of people enter your home.

“When you’re cooking use the microwave as much as possible. When you’re using the stove, make sure you’re using it efficiently and cooking things one right after the other so that it doesn’t have to heat up [again],” said Lowe.

You can also save money by getting all of your cold ingredients out at once so you aren’t opening and closing the refrigerator door several times.

Do not put oil or grease down your drain.

“A lot of people have the misconception that if they run really hot water over their dishes, in their pots and pans, that will carry the grease down the drain to where it needs to go. But that’s not the case. Once that grease dries it will form a thick layer on those pipes and it can eventually create a buildup that can cause a backup and overflow into your sink,” said Lowe.

Be sure to keep an eye out for lit candles as well. Keep them away from small children, pets and curtains.

BGMU also encourages you to allow leftovers to cool a bit before putting them in the refrigerator so that the appliance uses less energy to cool it.