Did You Have A Power Outage While You Were Away?

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

29 Feb 2008 05:29 AM

Sometimes if you are away for more than eight hours, your home may have suffered a power outage without your knowing. This could have some serious repercussions. For example, if your power went out and your frozen food thawed and then later refroze, it won't be safe to eat.

In the winter, a power outage can mean a loss oh heat and frozen pipes that burst, causing a flood. The soon you take care of a power outage, the better.

It is also good to know if you had a power outage, because your electronics can be affected. Some electronics may reset themselves when the power come on, while others may suffer damage from being cut off from power or from the surge of power when they come back on.

Here are some ways that you can set up your home to be able to tell if you had a power outage. And, don't forget to put all sensitive electronics, such as phone, computers, microwaves, digital cameras, DVD players, and televisions on surge protectors.

Before you leave on a weekend away or a vacation, place whole ice cubes in your freezer. If you return to find the ice cubes misshapen, you'll know that the power was off long enough for the ice cubes to melt and refreeze. Discard any food that was in the freezer or fridge.

While you are away, you can call your home phone. If the answering machine doesn't pick up, then there is probably no power to it. This is assuming that you don't have a digital voice mail service, of course.

Give your neighbors a phone number to call you if the power goes out while you are away. Chances are good that if your neighbor's home lost power, then so has your home. Or ask a friend to drop by and check while you are away.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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Sherry Holetzky (11404) 29 Feb 2008 08:06 AM

I like the ice cube test. Smart idea!

Mary Ann Romans (26886) 29 Feb 2008 08:11 AM

Thanks. I used to check the ice cream, but the ice cubes are easier.