It’s the goal of many to purchase a home and start a family of their own. Considering that, your home should feel like a safe place for everyone living inside of it. Unfortunately, circumstances beyond anyone’s control often turns safe homes into potentially dangerous places. One of these circumstances occurs when the power goes out. It’s understandable to wonder how to protect those in your home after it loses power. In this post, you’ll learn how to keep your family safe during power outages.
Power Outages Occur More Often Than You Think
If you’ve been dealing with power outages often, you’re not alone. In fact, federal statistics report that the United States loses power 285% more often than it did in 1984 when blackout data collection began. Unfortunately, it only takes one power outage to turn your home into a potentially dangerous place. Many families have begun to rely on the safety and security of standby generators to deal with this problem. It’s important to know how to keep your family safe during a power outage. With that in mind, here’s how to handle three common problems that occur after the power goes out.
Protecting Food During Power Outages
After a power outage takes place, appliances lose their ability to properly cool food. Depending on the size of your family, this could mean large amounts of food going to waste. In order to reduce the odds of having to throw out food, try to minimize opening refrigerators and freezers. If a power outage lasts less than four hours, food stored in these items should be safe to consume. That being said, it’s still wise to check the temperature of your food when the power returns. If any food has a temperature above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s recommended to throw these items out. You might have to purchases these items again. However, that option is better than dealing with a bout of food poisoning.
Keeping Everyone Hydrated
It’s imperative that everyone remains hydrated during a power outage, especially if this occurs during the summer. If you’re dealing with a large scale power outage, water treatment systems aren’t likely to work. Considering that, it’s wise to have an ample supply of bottled water in your home. This helps to ensure that you won’t have to worry about anyone in your household becoming dehydrated.
Dealing with Fast Changing Temperatures
In most cases, you’re simply not going to know when the power will go out. With that in mind, power outages are known to occur when the weather outside reaching extremely low or high temperatures. This means that controlling the temperature in your home will quickly become a major concern. If a power outage occurs during the summer, everyone is your home is likely to begin sweating. Therefore, it’s wise to ensure that everyone remains hydrated while the outage is taking place. If outages occur during the winter, make sure that everyone bundles up and has access to plenty of blankets.
To summarize, it’s important to ensure that your family remains safe during power outages. If you want to avoid the hassles that come with the power going out, it’s wise to consider owning standby generators. Standby generators immediately begin working after a power outage occurs. There are even whole house generators available, ensuring everyone in your home has power. That being said, it’s best to have generator installers take care of this project. In turn, you can rest assured that your generator installation goes as smoothly as possible. After this installation happens, you’ll never have to fear another power outage.