I was reading a very disturbing article in the paper this weekend. We
had a very heavy snowstorm last week, and branches came down over the
power lines, knocking out power to several thousand people.
The person who was being lauded in the article for his "resourcfulness"
was cooking indoors on a kerosene stove. A kerosene camp stove, with
the cylinder of kerosene attached to the side.
Let me repeat that: cooking indoors on a kerosene stove.
Any kind of combustion produces carbon monoxide. Kerosene, propane,
natural gas, wood stoves. That is why they all call for ventilation.
Wood stoves have a chimney that directs toxic fumes out of the house.
Kerosene, propane, and natural gas should be used outdoors unless if
your house is properly vented for an appliance that uses one of these
fuels. Every year, we hear of people who have died from carbon monoxide
poisoning. Some of these people were running a generator inside the
house. Some turned the natural gas on the stove on high to heat the
house because their electricity went out. Some are heating indoors with
an enclosed kerosene heater. Even cooking indoors can cause a build up
of toxic gases.
So, what should you do? Shovel off your outdoor grill and cook
outside. Put your kerosene stove out on the picnic table and cook. Put
your generator outside of the house. Attach a chain and lock it to
something sturdy, but keep it outside!!
If your electricity does go out and your house is getting cold, here are a few things to remember:
1) Find one room for your family to hunker down in. Seal the exits to
the room. Hang blankets over the door, but know that this room is going
to be your home base for a while. Bring in your blankets, your extra
clothes, games, knitting projects, whatever. The body heat of several
collective people will warm the room some.
2) Fireplaces suck heat right out of a house.
3) The electronic ignition on pellet stoves and natural gas stoves will
not work without electricity. Many models have a battery back up. If
you have extra batteries for that stove, pat yourself on the back!
4) Wood stoves will put out a really hot heat. Make certain you open
the damper before you build your fire. Hopefully, you have used your
woodstove before the power goes out, so you know how to regulate the
damper and vents in order the keep the smoke drawing up the chimney and
get the most heat possible out of your wood.
5) If you are on a well, and you don't have a battery back up, know that
you can melt snow to provide water. You can use this water to drink,
to cook with, to brush your teeth, and to flush your toilets. Trust me,
you want to flush those toilets.
6) Unplug all of your major appliances as long as the power is out,
especially your electronics. The power surge from the lines suddenly
coming back on can fry sensitive electronics. Also, the power drain
when the electric company finally gets your power back on and it is
suddenly powering ALL of the major appliances in the neighborhood can
cause the electricity to go back down again....
Stay safe and warm during these cold days!
This post originally appeared in my now defunct "Thrifty Living" blog. I
moved it to this blog at the request of my kids, who wanted to have all
of the various posts that accompanied their high school years in one
place. I've matched the publication dates here to their original post
date. If you're reading these posts, I sincerely thank you for taking
the time to go back through them all!
