Last year Downers Grove, Oak Lawn, Beverly Chicago and a few other suburbs had a power outage that lasted over 191 hours at one time. When this happens it is out of your hands and with no warning. That’s a lot of time to spend without power. So I put 5 helpful tips together to ease the hassle of being without power.

You know that fear that shoots through you the first few minutes, it’s called PANIC, and the only way to ease that panic is to be prepared. Staying connected to your family and important information is vital. But with no power how can we keep connected, cell phone batteries are used up in hours and computers even faster. So how can we stay connected to loved ones and updates in long outages?

When power goes out the first thing you should do is contact you’re utility company to make sure they are aware there is a problem, CALL THEM, don’t think your neighbor will call the utility because he’s thinking you’re going to call. Then call your neighbor to make sure the problem is the utility line and not isolated to your home.  What to do when you lose power and it’s not a utility problem.

Here are a few tips and gadgets to make life easier.

1. Store your utility company and a neighbor’s phone number in your phone. On your next bill find the number and enter it in your phone, and the next time you see your neighbor ask him for his so in case of any emergency he can be reached.

2. There are a few products on the market that hold a charge while power is on and can be used to charge cell phones, computers and note pads when power is out. Battery back-up gadgets. Here are a few:Portable Power Systems, Solar Laptop Chargers and Zaggsparq is a cheap and easy gadget.

3. Be prepared for “when is the power coming back on” 50 times in the first hour, it’s just like a long long car ride, be patient. Power outages can be fun too, ghost stories and hide ‘n’ go seek with flash lights, 20 questions can be played in the dark and flash light hand shadows, one of the best games to play in a power outage. Can keep the kids busy for hours.

4. I have a basement and if you do too we have thought the same thing,” please don’t flood”! There are a lot of flood control products and generator systems out there to keep water from destroying your basement. A back-up sump pump system connects to your existing sump pump and when power is out the controller monitors the water level to eject it from your home. Having a back-up generator system does a lot more than operate your sump pump they give you the freedom to use your TVs and lights, keep the freezer frozen even charge your phone and computer. It’s like having power. In a power outage.

5. Things to have on hand to make this inconvenience a little more tolerable; A few flash lights, wind up alarm clock (phone might go dead), laser pointers there fun in the dark, a bottle of wine and a few candles and who knows this could be one of the best things to happen to your family.

If you have any questions, Contact Us or Call Charles Otstott 708-361-1555