How to Protect Your Appliances in a Power Outage

Severe weather, overburdened power grids, and unexpected accidents that down power lines or blow transformers can leave you in the dark for hours or even days at a time. You’re probably already familiar with the basic preparatory steps – flashlights and batteries for everyone, plenty of nonperishable food, power banks and manual chargers for your most important electronics – but did you know there’s a few more simple things you can do to be really power outage ready?

In this guide, we’re going over some practical steps you can take to ensure you’re better prepared when you do lose your lights. By having these things ready now, you can stay safe at home later.

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Preparing Your Appliances For A Power Outage

Keep extra batteries, get a storm radio with a manual charger, stock up on shelf stable and nonperishable food — there are plenty of things you can do to prepare you and your family for an eventual power outage. Once you’ve handled the basics, move on to your next steps:

1. Be aware of which of your appliances and electronics are surge protected.

When the power comes back on, there is often a sudden jump in current that can potentially exceed the voltage levels your electronics and appliances are rated for. It’s not unusual for everything to shut back off again right away when this happens, but the power surge can also potentially damage your electronics, appliances, and even the wiring in your home.

Many of your electronics, like computers and televisions, are probably already plugged into power strips with surge protectors. You can’t plug major appliances into a power strip, though. So what do you do?

To protect your possessions in the most affordable way possible, make note of which appliances and electronics in your home are not surge protected. When the power goes out, make sure to turn these items off and unplug them to protect them when power is restored.

That said, there are a few other options, too:

• You can’t go plugging your major appliances into power strips, but you can invest in a whole-house surge protector. Whole-house options are installed in your electrical panel and, as the name implies, will offer surge protection for your whole home.
• Use GFCI outlets. Your home may already have them, particularly if it was built more recently. Ever see those outlets with the buttons labeled “TEST” and “RESET”? These are GFCI outlets, and they automatically shut off the flow of electricity in the event of a surge.
• Your utility company may offer a meter-mounted surge protector option, which they will install for you.

2. Keep ice packs in your freezer and water in your fridge.

No need to spend extra on actual ice packs. You can just fill some empty containers, milk jugs, or resealable bags with water and let them freeze or chill – just make sure you leave enough room in your containers so they don’t burst as the water expands when it freezes. Keeping ice in your freezer and chilled water in your fridge will help to keep things cold when the power does go out. In an emergency, you’ll have ice packs on hand to apply to injuries or move to coolers.

Storing ice doesn’t just need to be for emergencies, either. Provided your freezer isn’t already completely stuffed, keeping a big pack of ice in there makes it easier to maintain an appropriate temperature. Your freezer will run a little more efficiently – potentially saving you in energy costs – with some ice inside to help maintain the temperature.

3. Make sure your fridge and freezer seals are in good shape.

Check your refrigerator door regularly for signs of damage. A visual inspection might not be enough, so run your hand over the rubber gasket on the door. If you see any damage, or can feel cracks, crumbling, or other brittle bits, you should replace the gasket to ensure your refrigerator door has a good seal. This is especially important when the power goes out – you want that cool air to stay in!

4. Have a way to track temperatures.

You can use a food thermometer to check the temperature on perishables once the power comes back on. You may also want to purchase thermostats with digital or dial read-outs to keep in your fridge and freezer. Your refrigerator’s temperature should not go above 40º F, and your freezer should maintain a temperature of 0º F or lower.

5. Consider investing in a generator.

If you live in an area that is frequently impacted by inclement weather or lengthy power outages that take forever to fix, a generator might be a good investment. Even a small portable generator could potentially be enough to keep food or refrigerated medical supplies safely cold after a storm or blackout.

Before you go buying though, you’ll want to do your research. Some questions you should to ask yourself include:

• How much power do I need? What will I be powering with this generator? How long does it need to run? This’ll help you determine what size generator you need.
• Where will I store it when it’s not in use? Do I have enough space to set it up and lock it down when it is being used? Generators should never be run indoors, even in your garage, and should never be set up outside of windows. In fact, when running, a portable generator generally needs to be kept at least 20 feet from your home.
• Keep in mind that generators need regular upkeep, too. How much are you able to keep up with? Will you be able to afford annual professional maintenance? If you want an idea of what generator maintenance looks like, in the next section, we’ll take a look at some of the maintenance you should be doing so that your generator is power outage ready year round.

How to Maintenance a Generator

If you have a generator, you should be doing regular upkeep on it to ensure it works when you need it most. Consult your equipment’s manual for instructions specific to your make and model of generator, but here are some general tips:

• 1. Save the physical manual. If there’s a power outage, you might not be able to easily get online and download a PDF copy of your generator’s manual. Keep your generator’s manual in a safe, dry place where it won’t be damaged by water or weather. You may need to reference it during an outage.
  2. Keep back up oil and filters on hand. A generator’s oil and filters will last for a few days of steady use – anywhere from 50 to 200 hours, depending on a number of factors. Hopefully you won’t be without power that long, but it’s still a good idea to keep back up filters and oil on hand in case you need to do a quick filter switch or refill after a big storm.
  3. Run your generator for 15 to 20 minutes every month or so. Check your manual for your manufacturer’s instructions – some recommend running it for a few minutes weekly. By running your generator at full capacity for a few minutes every month, you’ll ensure the battery stays charged.
  4. Don’t use old fuel, and use a stabilizer to keep your fuel in good shape longer.
  5. Check the spark plugs annually. If they’re covered in carbon or aren’t performing optimally, they should be replaced.
  6. Do a full visual inspection before you run it. Before you get the generator started up, clear your generator off and check it for debris – leaves, snow, dirt, or even rodent nests. These things can interfere with airflow in your generator, so make sure it’s clean!

Which Appliances are Most Vulnerable During Blackouts?

Generally, a power surge poses the greatest risk to anything you have plugged in and running when it occurs. Aside from electronics like TVs and computers, refrigerators, freezers, electric ranges, and AC units are all potentially particularly vulnerable to a sudden surge. The danger doesn’t quit once the power’s come back on, either. Right after power is restored, voltage will most likely be off – either a little low or a little high. Plugging your appliances in and turning them back on right after the power’s restored, when the voltage isn’t right, could cause damage that overheats components or blows fuses.

The Difference Between Blackouts vs Brownouts vs Voltage Sags

There are three different types of power outage:

• 1. Blackouts are complete interruptions of power – your power goes out and stays out, usually because of severe weather or some sort of equipment failure. Blackouts are large-scale power outages that affect a large area.
  2. Brownouts are partial reductions in voltage typically caused by a high power demand. They occur by design as a way to prevent a large-scale power failure, and you’ll know one’s happening by the dimming of lights in your home. Because of fluctuating voltages, brownouts can potentially damage appliances if they are ongoing, so unplug your electronic devices if you notice one happening!
  3. A Voltage Sag is what you get when the lights flicker or dim when an electronic motor or device is turned on and places a sudden high current demand on an electrical system. Voltage sags rarely cause full disruption of power.

What to Do When the Power Goes Out

Whether it’s the weather or something that got into a transformer, eventually you’re going to find yourself without power. You’ve got your emergency kit, flashlights, and a few board games to keep yourself occupied, but there are a few more things you should take care of once the power’s out.

1. Turn off and unplug anything that was running when the power went out.

Leave a lamp plugged in and turn on, but otherwise make sure everything else is off and, if you can manage it, unplugged – particularly appliances that don’t have any surge protection. Leaving one lamp on is enough to let you know when your power is restored, and keeping everything else unplugged will protect your possessions from a power surge, and potentially prevent the power from immediately going back out again once it does come back on.

2. Only use your generator outside.

You shouldn’t run your generator indoors, even in your garage. Keep it away from windows, as well. Consult your generator’s manual for specific instructions, but most advise that they be kept at least 20ft away from the home, bolted or locked down into place.

3. Don’t open your refrigerator more than absolutely necessary.

While it’s closed up, even without power, your refrigerator can keep things cool for up to four hours. Your freezer can keep things frozen for 24 to 48 hours depending on how full it is – the more full of already frozen items, the longer it’ll take for everything else to defrost.

Do be aware of anything that might go bad, like medications, and follow your physician’s guidelines for disposal. If you’ve got perishable items like that and your power has been out for more than 4 hours, move anything that might go bad into a cooler with ice to prolong its life – you can relocate some of those ice packs in your freezer for this.

4. Do not use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.

It’s important to stay warm during winter outages, but for your safety, you should stick to bundling up with layers of clothes and blankets. Never use your gas oven or stove to heat your home – the risk of injury is too great. It’s not just fire that could potentially harm you, but the gas fumes themselves.

5. Make sure your appliances are drained.

Hopefully you aren’t without power so long that it becomes a problem, but if you were doing laundry or running the dishwasher when the power cut out, there’s a chance that water may pool and sit in your appliance. You probably have bigger worries right when the power goes out, but if you’re looking at an extended time without electricity, bailing out any appliances with water sitting in them will protect the appliance’s components from damage and prevent mold or mildew from growing.

If the temperatures are getting well below freezing, you may also want to consider shutting off the main water supply to your home and flushing the plumbing to keep pipes from freezing. Burst pipes or water lines can be disastrously damaging to your home and your appliances.

On The Other Side Of A Power Outage…

Once the lights come back on, it’s time to do some checking.

• Don’t turn everything back on all at once. Your power grid may already be overburdened, and you don’t want to add to the risk of everything going back out again. Only turn the things you need back on at first, but do check to make sure that everything is still working once power seems stable again.
• Do you smell a burning or acrid smell? That could mean that a power surge caused when everything came back on could’ve damaged wiring, electronics, or appliances that were still plugged in. If the smell is particularly bad, or if you’re noticing other symptoms like lights that still flicker after the power’s restored, you should turn off your appliances and call a professional electrician to examine your home’s wiring for damage.
• Check your food for spoilage. If frozen food still has ice crystals, it’s safe to refreeze, but you may want to check the temperature on things that were in the fridge, especially if you were without power for more than four hours. If you aren’t sure about something, it’s best just to toss or compost it.

Wrapping Up

Power outages aren’t always easy to deal with, but you’ll find they’re a great deal less stressful if you’re prepared. We hope our steps to protect your appliances in a power outage wind up being as useful as they are easy. The next time you need help with home appliance maintenance or repair, keep AppliancePartsPros.com in mind. We’ve got great tips, detailed tutorials, and genuine OEM replacement parts to help do-it-yourselfers just like you.