Summer thunderstorms here don't always stay polite. A line of storms rolls across Montgomery and Prince George's counties in late afternoon, a tree comes down on a line, and the house goes quiet. Most outages last an hour or two. Some last days: the June 2012 derecho left some Pepco customers in the dark for as long as a week, and it arrived on a day when Washington hit a record 104°F.
This guide is organized by time, because the right move at hour one is different from the right move at hour thirty.
The moment the power goes out
Keep the refrigerator and freezer closed. Nothing else you do will matter as much. Every opening lets cold air fall out and warm, humid air in.
Switch off or unplug sensitive appliances. When power returns, it can come back with a surge or flicker on and off several times. Unplug microwaves, countertop appliances and electronics you can easily reach. Many people leave one lamp switched on so they know when power is back.
Find the flashlight, not candles. Candles near curtains and kitchen towels are a real fire risk during outages.
Report it. Pepco serves most of our area and takes outage reports online and by phone. Don't assume the neighbors did.
If you smell gas at any point, get everyone out of the house. Don't switch lights, appliances or phones on or off inside. Once outside and away from the house, call 911 and the Washington Gas emergency number.
The first four hours
The FoodSafety.gov numbers to remember: roughly 4 hours for an unopened refrigerator, about 48 hours for a packed freezer, and about 24 for one that's half full. All of those assume nobody opens the door.
If you expect a long outage:
- •Put appliance thermometers in the fridge and freezer now, if you have them, so you'll have real readings later.
- •Group frozen food together in the freezer. A packed freezer stays cold longer than a sparse one.
- •If you can get ice or dry ice, it can extend the time. Handle dry ice with gloves and keep it ventilated.
- •Move milk, meat and leftovers into a cooler with ice if the outage looks likely to pass four hours.
Don't put food outside on a summer day. Even on a cooler night, it's exposed to animals and uneven temperatures.
Using a generator
A portable generator can keep a refrigerator going, but it must be used safely. Generator exhaust contains carbon monoxide, which can kill in minutes without warning.
- •Run it outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away, per the Consumer Product Safety Commission's guidance. Never in a garage, basement, porch or carport, even with the door open.
- •Keep working carbon monoxide alarms on each level of the house.
- •Run the fridge off the generator using an outdoor-rated, heavy-gauge cord sized for the appliance.
- •Don't connect a portable generator to a house outlet to power the wiring ("backfeeding"). It's dangerous to you and to utility crews. A permanently installed generator needs a transfer switch installed by an electrician.
Past four hours
At this point, refrigerated perishable food that's been without power for more than four hours should be discarded, FoodSafety.gov says. That includes meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, soft cheeses, cooked leftovers and cut fruit. Hard cheeses, butter, whole fruit and vegetables, and most condiments hold up better; the FoodSafety.gov chart lists them.
Freezer food is judged differently. When the power comes back, check each item. Food that still has ice crystals, or reads 40°F or below, can be refrozen, though its quality may suffer.
Tasting won't tell you whether food is safe. If you can't be sure, discard it.
When the power returns
Wait a few minutes before plugging everything back in. Power can flicker as crews restore circuits. Then:
- Start with the cold appliances: refrigerator and freezer.
- Check that each one is running: you should hear the compressor and fans within a few minutes. Many models have a delay before the compressor restarts.
- Reset clocks and check control panels. Some refrigerators show an alert or a temperature warning after an outage; check the manual for how to clear it.
- Plug in the rest gradually.
Give the refrigerator several hours to bring its temperature back down, and a freezer longer. Don't load it up with new groceries until it's cold again.
Appliances that don't come back
If an appliance is dead after the outage:
- •Check the breaker panel. A breaker may have tripped when power returned.
- •Check GFCI outlets. In kitchens, laundry rooms, garages and basements, a tripped GFCI may be feeding the outlet the appliance is plugged into, even from another room.
- •Try unplugging it for a few minutes, then plugging it back in to reset the control.
Signs that something was damaged:
- •A control board that's dark even though the outlet is live.
- •A burning smell or scorch marks near the plug or the back of the appliance.
- •A refrigerator that runs but doesn't cool, or a compressor that hums and clicks off.
- •A washer or dishwasher that shows error codes it never showed before.
Stop using an appliance that smells of burning, and have it checked. If a fridge was fine before the storm and isn't cooling afterward, our article on a refrigerator that won't cool walks through the checks, and a freezer that isn't freezing is covered in our freezer guide.
If water came in
Storms that knock out power can also stop sump pumps. If your basement took on water:
- •Don't walk into standing water if it may be touching an outlet or an appliance that's plugged in. Shut power to the area at the panel if you can reach it safely, or call an electrician.
- •Don't use any appliance that was underwater. Washers, dryers, water heaters and furnaces that were submerged need professional evaluation, and gas appliances that got wet should be checked before they're put back in service.
Getting ready for the next one
Most outages can't be prevented, but you can prepare:
- •Keep a thermometer in the refrigerator and freezer year-round.
- •Keep a cooler and a few frozen gel packs or water jugs in the freezer; they also help fill it.
- •Know where your breaker panel is and label the circuits.
- •Consider a surge protector at the outlet for appliances with electronic controls. A whole-house surge protector is a job for an electrician.
- •Have a battery backup on a sump pump if your basement relies on one.
Our summer appliance care guide has more on getting through the hottest months.
Getting help
If an appliance didn't survive the outage, book a repair visit online or call. We'll test it in place, show you what the storm damaged, and price the repair so you can decide. If surge damage makes the repair poor value, we'll tell you that too.