Blackout preparation

Blackout preparation
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Don’t get caught offguard – here are some tips to help you survive an electrical outage.

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Fill the bath

Fill the bath
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When the power grid goes down, your water supply might also be affected. So fill up buckets and bottles with water. Fill the bathtub, too.

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Turn your car into a generator

Turn your car into a generator
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A power inverter, which turns DC current from your car into AC current for electric gadgets, is the next best thing to a generator when it comes to surviving a blackout. Small units can recharge your computer or phone. Larger ones can power a fridge or power tools.

Conserve batteries

Conserve batteries
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LED torches and lanterns have a huge advantage over incandescent models: They allow batteries to last much longer (typically about six to 10 times as long).

Fill the barbecue tank

Fill the barbecue tank
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“During a three-day outage, I fed dozens of friends and neighbours by grilling everything in my fridge and freezer,” says Arthur Barfield, The Family Handyman field editor. “Without the power to keep food cold, it all would have gone bad anyway.”

Save food with ice

Save food with ice
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A couple of days without power can cost you a few hundred bucks as food spoils in fridges and freezers. Fill locking freezer bags with water and keep them in the freezer. During a blackout, they’ll help the freezer stay cold longer. Or you can transfer them to the fridge or a cooler. When they thaw, you’ve got drinking water.

Don’t wreck your TV

Don’t wreck your TV
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When the power grid sputters back to life, it will probably create power surges which can destroy sensitive electronics in TVs, computers and appliances. So unplug anything that may contain electronic components. Leave one light switched on to let you know when the power is restored. And if you have a generator, check the manual. Most inexpensive models churn out “dirty” power that can harm electronics.

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Fill up your car

Fill up your car
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Your car is a critical part of your survival kit. It’s your emergency transport and your charging system for cell phones. So keep your tank full before storms. If you have petrol cans, fill them, too. When the power is out, petrol stations can’t pump petrol from their tanks into yours.

Flush with a bucket

Flush with a bucket
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Even if a power outage stops the city water supply, you can still flush the toilet. Dump a couple of litres into the bowl or fill the toilet tank. This works just as well as the usual flush, but won’t refill the bowl.

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Keep the fridge closed

Keep the fridge closed
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The less you open fridge and freezer doors, the longer your food will stay cold.

Here are some essential refrigerator maintenance and repair tips.