How To Make A Power Outage Manageable

How To Make A Power Outage Manageable

If your power has been cut, sitting in the dark should be a last resort. These 10 recommendations

will show you how to make a power outage manageable. If you have been the victim of a storm or a

cyclone, then there is a chance you will be without power for a few days. The power may not come

back on immediately.

It is always handy to have a backup for these situations. For example, your air conditioning will shut

down and if you live in a warm country, that alone can make the power cut unbearable. As well, your

food will begin to defrost, prompting bacteria to grow on it and you having to throw it all in the bin.

 

1. Pay attention to the weather conditions that normally accompany the different times of the

year. So the weather may impact your plans somewhat. Take into consideration how long

it will take to get to your local hospital. Likewise, if you live in city you will face different

problems to those who live in the countryside.

2. Make sure you have enough staple foods available. Eat any fresh food before it has the

chance to decline and needs to be thrown away.

3. Have a supply of foods that won’t need to be cooked.

• Before it becomes dangerous to do so, eat all your fresh food. It’s handy to have

some crackers and cookies for the kids. Some foods that will not perish include

juices, potatoes, soup and fish. However, it is usually best to have plenty of tinned

food.

• Keep all items in the fridge close together. This will stop the food from reaching

room temperature quickly. Your food will start to spoil once it reaches room

temperature. However, after a blackout the food will remain cold for a short time.

Therefore, keep the fridge door closed for as long as possible.

4. Keep some matches handy to light your barbeque. This may be the only way you can cook if

the power will be cut for a long period of time. However, do no bring the barbeque inside as

that can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

5. Homes that are powered by natural gas should have a gas powered fire to keep warm. Have

some fans and water available to keep cool. Anyone that has a wood powered stove should

have plenty of wood.

6. If your power cut is going to last more than two hours, then don’t use standby lights.

However, once the power goes out you can get safety lights that will automatically switch

on.

• Make sure you have plenty of batteries as the power in safety lights is known to die

pretty fast.

• LED lights tend to last for a longer time, so if may be worthwhile to have some LED

security lights just in case.

• The kitchen and the bathroom are the most used rooms in all houses. So it is

advisable to prepare these two rooms first before you place the security rooms

around the entire house.

7. Take a trip to mall, catch a movie or go for a meal to pass the time, providing the whole area

hasn’t been affected by the power cut.

• If it’s dark then it’s best to stay inside. If you’re snowed in, then that’s your only

reason for staying at home during a power cut.

8. Talk to each other, sing songs or play outside to pass time. You will need to be cautious

when moving around during a power cut. Therefore, it is advisable to have a torch handy.

Equipment powered by electricity, such as TVs won’t work so you will need to find

something else to pass the time.

• The best thing to do is to sleep when it’s dark. Once it’s bright and you have nothing

to do, then read a book.

9. An electric tin opener won’t work during a power cut, so you should keep a manual one to

open tinned food. Having a battery operated camping lamp will also help to keep your room

well-lit during the blackout.

10. Have a battery powered radio so you can keep up-to-date with the news. A battery powered

cell charger is also handy to keep in these situations.

 

This article was written by Brian Madden; Virtual Advertising Associate at Crown Gas and Power. I

frequently write articles about the utilities trade. Connect with me on Google+ by visiting this link

https://plus.google.com/u/0/101454832490662946550/posts.