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How To Prepare For A Power Outage

If you’ve ever been through a power outage in Washington, you know just how easy it is to take electricity for granted until you lose it. A power outage can be frustrating, time-consuming, and dangerous. Since a power outage can occur anywhere at any time, it’s a good idea to make some basic preparations to ensure that power outages don’t cause too much trouble in your home. Here are a few things that the pros at Expert Air Control recommend you take care of before the lights go dim.

1. Keep An Eye On Your Phone Battery

When you lose power, your phone may be one of the few ways that you can stay in touch with the world and keep track of any emergency alerts. Therefore, if bad weather is forecasted, it’s a good idea to keep your phone on its charger as much as possible. This will ensure that you have a decent amount of battery reserves if you should lose power in your home.

2. Prepare An Emergency Kit

Most people understand what they need to stay safe when the power goes out. The problem is that these items can be difficult to find if they’re spread out all over your house. That’s why Expert Air Control recommends preparing an emergency kit so that you can have all of your must-have items in one easy-to-find location. The emergency kit should have a first-aid kit, at least one flashlight with extra batteries, a weather radio, some candles, a box of matches, plus a few snacks and games to help pass the time.

3. Install A Whole-Home Generator

The only thing better than being prepared to deal with a power outage is never having to experience one in the first place. If you have a whole-home generator from Expert Air Control, this can be your reality. A generator kicks in at the moment your home loses power, allowing you to continue to go about your routine without interruption. This can help prevent trips and falls, food spoilage, lost data on your computer, and a host of other problems. The best part is that the fuel in a generator can be refilled, meaning that you can have power for several days if needed.

4.Think Through Medication

If you require medication as part of your normal routine, it’s important that you have a way to continue to dispense this medication even when the power goes out. For example, if your medication requires refrigeration, you need to make sure you have a cooler and some ice packs ready to go so that you can continue to preserve your medication for the duration of the power outage. You should also have emergency numbers saved in your phone so that you can get emergency refills of your medication if the medication you have is compromised because of the power outage.

5. Keep Gas In Your Vehicle

Typically, a power outage is accompanied by severe weather. If the weather gets especially bad, you may need to be able to evacuate the area. In difficult circumstances like this, there often isn’t enough gas to go around in the immediate area. That’s why Expert Air Control recommends filling all of your vehicles with gas before any inclement weather arrives. This will ensure that you have enough fuel to get out of town safely before you need to fill up your gas tank again. Plus, your vehicle can provide a great place to charge your phone or turn on some extra light if you need these resources during a power outage.

6. Keep An Eye On The Temperature

One of the biggest problems caused by power outages is spoiled food due to a lack of refrigeration. To help keep you and your family healthy, you need to make sure that your food hasn’t exceeded 40 degrees at any point during the power outage. That’s why it’s a good idea to put a thermometer in your refrigerator prior to a power outage so that you don’t have to try to find a thermometer while an outage is in progress. This will prevent you from incorrectly guessing the temperature of your food and potentially putting yourself at risk of foodborne illnesses.

Helping You Prepare For The Unexpected

At Expert Air Control, we don’t want you to have to suffer due to a lack of preparation. That’s why we work hard to prepare your home for whatever Mother Nature can throw at you. Whether we’re installing, repairing, or maintaining a furnace or air conditioner, servicing a whole-home generator, cleaning ductwork, or performing one of our other services, you can be sure we’ll do it with effectiveness, efficiency, and pride. That’s why we’re able to maintain our A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. To learn more about preparing your home for a power outage, contact us at Expert Air Control in Puyallup, WA today.

Categories: Electrical

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