
Tips for Surviving a Power Outage
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If u have an old house with old plumbing with a "frozen bathtub drain or pipes"; fill the tub with cold water then add about a pound of Salt; wait a few hours; the salt will melt the ice in the tub & pipes.
Here in Sacramento, the power outage in peak and heatwaves sucks, must have power backup systems in place.
I keep car's gas full.....for us since most happen in winter, the car gives heat, radio for updates, plug in phone.......just need a good book and your set for hours!
i use e bulbs that store electricity when there is power and stay on when there is no power also woodstoves give off light and i cook on them as well as the heat they provide.
Along with everyone else’s suggestions during an expected outage, after we take showers & I do the laundry, I fill the washer with cold water. It is used for everything other than drinking or cooking. For those, I fill our 5 gallon insulated water cooler. I also keep a couple of clean milk jugs full of water in the deep freeze
When I have a power outage I bring my solar driveway lights inside and have a few in each room I am using. The next morning I take them back outside to recharge in the sun in case I need them again that night.
Completely safe!
When my kids were small and the temperature dropped, I would take their pj's, bathtowels, and a blanket off their bed, and throw it in the dryer for 5 minutes while they had their evening bath. There was never an argument about getting out of the bath or into their beds! I still use that with older relatives, taking a comforter and warming it in the dryer, either for sleeping or just relaxing them. Works every time.
We often lose power in nor'easters and hurricanes. Sandy left us without power for a week. Eastern Long Island went without longer.
*I always make everyone take a shower and wash/dry their hair when a storm threatens, that way we start off clean.
* Get all the laundry washed and dried.
*Be sure you have enough stored water for your pets as well as humans.
* As a nurse practitioner, I caution all my patients to check medication if a storm is brewing, and get refills whenever possible. Same for my family.
*Have a written list of medicines and phone #s - if your cell phone dies, you still have access. We will not give up our land line due to storm frequency around here.
* if you have along driveway as we do, park your cars down toward the end - less snow to shovel, and they'll survive not being in the garage. Remember to raise the wiper blades unless you have gale force winds which might snap them off.
* we have a wood stove to cook on and for heat. Always be sure you have a cord of wood dry and ready to go. Or at least enough to get you through a few days.
* Candles are a danger with pets and kids. Buy and use solar lanterns which recharge with very little light. Even a dim day will cause them to refresh their power if they are next to a window or glass door. Plus they are easy to read and play games by without eye strain.
* If you must sleep in a very cold room wear socks and a head scarf to retain maximum body heat.
* Make every effort to stay dry and thoroughly dry out all wet clothing before re-using.
* If a family member needs a specific supply of something - diaper/depends/insulin syringes/baby lotion/contact solution/ dog and cast food/cat litter, etc. be sure you have enough on hand for at least a week.
* charge your laptop and phones and use them only like a battery-powered radio: now and then! Use only to find out what's going on outside and to let family on social media know you're OK, and to see if vulnerable friends and family are well also.
* newspaper!! Use like wee-wee pads for smaller pets, DO NOT LET YOUR ANIMALS OUTSIDE WITHOUT A LEASH IN A STORM. Wind, thunder, thundersnow, falling icicles and branches can scare then into running away. This is not a time for them to be out alone. We have rough collies and spread a plastic drop cloth on the garage floor and cover it with the paper for them to use when snow is too deep or the storm is too fierce for them to take care of business outside. Easy to clean up, especially if they were paper-trained as puppies (our were!).
Stay warm and safe everyone.
If you have children or pets, candles and oil filled lanterns are NOT safe. Children and pets can get out of control and knock these over, starting house fires. I live in a hurricane prone area. We are told to use flashlights (battery or hand-cranked) or glow sticks. I use glow sticks and kids love them. You can order the extra large ones that will last about 12-18 hours. I do have head lamps and really like them.
I keep my solar lights on all year round. Whenever there are power outages, I can then bring them inside at night to safely light the house, and put them back out the next day to re-charge. ....Works great, and they give off a tremendous amount of light when everywhere is pitch black!
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