Learning how to survive a winter power outage is one of the most crucial things that you should learn. Power lines can be disrupted by various things like heavy snow, falling trees, and strong winds. When your electricity goes out, your boiler or furnace follows. This is why it's a good idea to ensure that you have an effective plan to keep the situation under control.
The simplest way to avoid any detrimental consequences is by ensuring that you're adequately prepared for any power outage before it even happens.
Prepare to Survive a Winter Power Outage
If you want to make the effects of the winter storm to be less severe for you and your family, you should ensure that you stay prepared before the winter comes.
You don't want to be miserable throughout the cold season, or to have your appliances damaged due to any unstable surges from a power outage.
1. Stock Up On Food
To survive a winter power outage, always think about the food first. While you can't stock up on loaves of bread before winter, it's always a good idea to buy a bulk of non-perishable food items.
These types of foods are ideal for keeping your family sustained throughout the winter. Not only do they contain the recommended amount of calories and protein, but they also have a long shelf life.
In some cases, these food items come with packaged meals that don't require much effort to make. All you need is to add a bit of boiling water, and you're all set.
This comes in handy if any of the food in your fridge ends up spoiled due to the lack of power. And if you're unfortunate to have a power outage that lasts longer than expected, your food will likely finish. Stocking up on non-perishable food items can help you avoid this situation.
2. Emergency Water
Did you know that when your power supply is interrupted it can affect your water supply? This means that as soon as your power goes out, you are likely to struggle with relying on your usual water supply.
This is why you should keep some water on standby in your garage in case you experience a power outage. You should know how to survive without worrying about suffering from a lack of water. The easiest way to store your water is through a storage water container.
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Another way is to buy standard gallons of water that will be sufficient to last you until the end of the power outage. If you want to use a water storage container, you should know that it can be heavy to move around if it's filled up. So, place it where it will be convenient to reach or move around if necessary.
3. Get a Backup Radio, Flashlights, and Other Necessities
The fact is that a power outage comes with frustrating connectivity issues. Your smartphone will likely fail you.
As soon as the lights go off, your connection to your friends and family is also interrupted. Survive a winter power outage by having backup (alternatively powered) survival necessities and gadgets. Always have batteries for your radios, flashlights.
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Besides radio communication, you'll also need to have flashlights or even lanterns to power up your home. If you want to make sure that your phone is fully charged even when the storm hits, you should get a power bank or a portable charger.
Ensuring that you have these electronic necessities in case a storm hits is an effective way to survive winter power outage problems.
4. Have Warm Clothing Set Aside
It's easy for you to panic about ways to keep warm when a power outage happens. While starting a fire to keep warm is simple, there are other ways that you should consider keeping yourself warm.
For instance, you should think of putting aside warm clothes way before the winter comes. Make sure that everyone can have sufficient layers of clothing. This is the most suitable solution to avoid getting sick when the power is out.
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When your body doesn't receive adequate insulation, a lot can go wrong. To avoid this, you should start thinking of insulated underwear, socks, coats, boots, etc. You should be worrying about keeping your home warm while you and your family are already warm.
5. Protect Your Appliances
Unfortunately, when a power outage happens, you can't know when it will occur. So, your electric appliances are likely in a vulnerable position.
If you want to protect these from any expensive damage, you should ensure that you know how to unplug them safely. A power outage that comes with surges can cause extensive damage to these appliances, as well as your home.
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It's best to keep the things that have computing or electronic components unplugged. Some of these include the following.
- Gaming systems
- Desktop/laptop computers
- Microwaves
- Televisions
- Washing machine and dryer
- Any of your appliances that have modern technology
Having a practical survival guide to help you survive winter power outage blues is crucial. If you live in an area that's prone to winter storms, you should do your best to stay prepared for the worst.
