Step 1: protect appliances while the power is out
The riskiest moment for an appliance is often when the power comes back. FPL tells customers to turn off and disconnect electronic equipment during an outage, including microwave ovens. Leave one lamp switched on so you know when power has been restored.
Here's how that works for each appliance:
- Refrigerator and freezer: turn them off at the control or unplug them, and keep the doors shut.
- Washer, dishwasher and microwave: unplug them if you can reach the plug, or switch off their breakers.
- Electric range, wall oven and cooktop: switch off the double breaker, since these are hard to unplug or hardwired.
- Electric dryer: switch off its double breaker.
- Undercounter ice machine: turn it off. If the bin melts, empty it so the water drains.
Use a flashlight to read the panel labels before the storm, while you can still see them.
Running appliances on a portable generator
A portable generator can keep a refrigerator or freezer going through a long outage. It's also a carbon monoxide hazard, which the CPSC warns about ahead of every hurricane season, so placement matters more than anything else.
- Run it outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away from windows, doors and vents. Never in a garage, carport, porch or shed, even with the doors open.
- Plug appliances into the generator with heavy-duty extension cords made for outdoor use, rated for more than the total wattage connected to them.
- Keep working carbon monoxide alarms in the house.
- Never connect a generator to your home's wiring or plug it into a wall outlet. FPL warns that power can flow back onto the lines and injure line workers. A transfer switch installed by a licensed electrician is the safe way to connect one.
A small generator usually can't run an electric range, dryer or water heater. Those are 240-volt appliances with large heating elements. Save generator power for the fridge, the freezer and a few lights.
Step 2: bring appliances back one at a time
When the lamp you left on comes back, wait until the power has stayed steady, then follow FPL's guidance and turn appliances on one at a time.
- Refrigerator and freezer first, since the food is on a clock.
- Then the range, washer, dryer and dishwasher, one at a time, giving each a minute.
- Microwave and small electronics last.
Turning everything on at once makes it hard to tell which appliance trips a breaker, and it puts the whole load on the circuit at the moment the grid is least settled.
Step 3: what's normal after an outage, and what means a repair
Use this table once each appliance has power again. The left column is behavior you can expect and wait out. The middle column is the point where it's a repair.
| Appliance and what's normal | Signs it needs a repair |
|---|---|
| Refrigerator or freezer: a delay of several minutes before the compressor starts; hours to pull back down to temperature | Not noticeably colder after a few hours; clicking every few minutes with no hum; display on but nothing running. See refrigerator repair. |
| Ice maker: several hours before the first batch | No ice after a day; ice frozen into a block that jams the dispenser; water on the freezer floor. See ice maker repair. |
| Washer: may need the cycle restarted; front-load door may stay locked until it resets | Won't start or drain after a reset; door stays locked with no water inside; error code returns. See washer repair. |
| Electric dryer: should run normally once both sides of its breaker are on | Runs without heat (check that the double breaker reset fully first); won't start; burning smell. See dryer repair. |
| Dishwasher: an interrupted cycle may need to be canceled or drained | Won't start or drain after a reset; lights flash in an error pattern. See dishwasher repair. |
| Range or oven: clock flashing; some won't bake until the clock is set | Touchpad unresponsive or an error code after a one-minute breaker reset; an element that won't heat. See oven and range repair. |
| Microwave: clock flashing | Dead with a working outlet; runs but doesn't heat; buttons don't respond. See microwave repair. |
| Garbage disposal: should run normally | Hums or stays silent; press the red reset button on the bottom of the unit first. |
How to tell surge damage from a tripped breaker
Before blaming the appliance, prove the outlet works. Plug a lamp or phone charger into the same outlet. If it's dead too, the problem is the outlet, the GFCI or the breaker.
- Several outlets or rooms dead: a tripped breaker or a wiring problem. If resetting doesn't fix it, call a licensed electrician.
- One kitchen, laundry, garage or outdoor outlet dead: look for a tripped GFCI, which may be on a different outlet on the same circuit.
- Outlet works, appliance is dead or half-working: this is where surge damage shows up. Common signs are a blank display, an error code that returns after a reset, lights that work while the heating or cooling doesn't, or a burnt smell near the controls.
- Breaker trips the moment one appliance turns on: leave that appliance off. Something inside it may be shorted.
Surge damage usually hits the control board, touchpad or compressor start components, and those parts can often be replaced. It doesn't automatically mean a new appliance. Our guide to repairing or replacing an appliance helps if the repair is a big one.
Deciding what food to keep
According to FoodSafety.gov, a closed refrigerator keeps food safe for about 4 hours. A full freezer holds its temperature for about 48 hours, or about 24 if it's half full.
Perishable food that has been at 40°F or warmer for more than 2 hours should be thrown out. Freezer food that still has ice crystals and feels refrigerator-cold can usually be refrozen. Check with a thermometer, and when in doubt, throw it out.
If water reached the appliance
An outage that came with flooding changes everything above. Don't restore power to any appliance that sat in water, and don't plug it in to test it.
The CPSC warns against using wet electrical appliances because of shock and fire hazards. If the outlet, breaker panel or wiring also got wet, a licensed electrician needs to check those first.
After that, have the appliance inspected to see whether it can be dried out and repaired or should be replaced. The section on flooded washers goes through what floodwater does inside an appliance.
Protecting appliances before the next storm
- Surge protection. FPL recommends surge protection inside the home, outside at the meter, or both for the most protection. Plug-in surge protectors cover electronics and countertop appliances. Large 240-volt appliances like ranges and dryers can't use a plug-in strip, so whole-home protection installed by an electrician is what covers them.
- Label your breaker panel so you can switch off the range, dryer and other appliance circuits quickly.
- Keep appliance thermometers in the fridge and freezer, so the food decision is based on a number.
- Freeze water bottles or ice packs to fill empty freezer space before a storm. A full freezer holds its temperature longer.
- Photograph model tags on your major appliances now. Insurance claims and repair calls both go faster with the model number in hand.
Power outage and appliance questions
Can a power surge ruin an appliance?
It can damage parts of one. Electronic control boards, touchpads and compressor start components are the parts most often affected.
The appliance may be completely dead, or it may light up but not heat, cool or run. Many surge-damaged appliances can be repaired by replacing the damaged board or component.
Should I unplug my refrigerator during a hurricane?
Once the power goes out, switching the refrigerator off or unplugging it protects it from surges and voltage swings when power returns. Keep the doors closed either way, and turn it back on once power has stayed steady.
Is appliance damage from a power surge covered by insurance?
It depends on your homeowners or renters policy. Some cover surge damage and some don't. Call your insurer before discarding the appliance and ask what documentation they need.
My appliance shows an error code after the outage. Is it broken?
Not necessarily. Turn the appliance's breaker off for about a minute, or unplug it for a minute, then restore power.
That resets the control on most appliances. If the same code comes back right away, the control or a component it monitors has a problem.
When the checklist doesn't bring an appliance back, a local Bradenton appliance repair company can take it from there. Saul's Appliance Repair handles in-home repairs across the city.