How do I keep my fridge cold if the power goes out?
If your freezer is not full, fill any empty space with water jugs while the power is still on. Fill the water jugs only about 80% of the way full, and keep their lids on loosely until they’re frozen solid, because water expands when it freezes. This improves the efficiency of your freezer all the time, and the ice containers can be moved to the fridge to keep it cool longer in a power outage.
If you have a cooler, consider moving perishables from the fridge into the cooler. Put the most perishable stuff (meats) on the bottom, the least perishable stuff you’ll eat (veggies etc) in the middle, and your ice bottles on top. Stuff usually stays cold longer in a cooler than in a non-working fridge, because the cold air stays in the cooler when you open the top, whereas when you open the door of the fridge all the cold air falls out. Remember that cooler air sinks below warmer air, so storing your cooler in a basement will also extend the time it stays cold for.
If you’re going out and buying a cooler for preparedness, look for the kind meant for boating or long camping trips. Some good coolers can keep stuff at a safe temperature for over a week if you add enough ice.
Be careful when using dry ice indoors, especially if your house is not very drafty. Dry ice turns directly into carbon dioxide when it sublimes, and carbon dioxide is heavier than air. This means that the CO2 from the dry ice may displace the air enough to cause danger, if you’re using large quantities of it in a small and well sealed room.
If you filled your water containers with potable water, it will also be a bit of extra drinking water once they thaw.
Only [forage] if you know what you’re doing
Learn about the universal edibility test. It’s best to bring food with you, and second-best to eat only things you recognize as definitely edible. But if you’re faced with a choice between eating something unknown or starving, approaching the unknown food in a rational manner can save your life.
If your freezer is not full, fill any empty space with water jugs while the power is still on. Fill the water jugs only about 80% of the way full, and keep their lids on loosely until they’re frozen solid, because water expands when it freezes. This improves the efficiency of your freezer all the time, and the ice containers can be moved to the fridge to keep it cool longer in a power outage.
If you have a cooler, consider moving perishables from the fridge into the cooler. Put the most perishable stuff (meats) on the bottom, the least perishable stuff you’ll eat (veggies etc) in the middle, and your ice bottles on top. Stuff usually stays cold longer in a cooler than in a non-working fridge, because the cold air stays in the cooler when you open the top, whereas when you open the door of the fridge all the cold air falls out. Remember that cooler air sinks below warmer air, so storing your cooler in a basement will also extend the time it stays cold for.
If you’re going out and buying a cooler for preparedness, look for the kind meant for boating or long camping trips. Some good coolers can keep stuff at a safe temperature for over a week if you add enough ice.
Be careful when using dry ice indoors, especially if your house is not very drafty. Dry ice turns directly into carbon dioxide when it sublimes, and carbon dioxide is heavier than air. This means that the CO2 from the dry ice may displace the air enough to cause danger, if you’re using large quantities of it in a small and well sealed room.
If you filled your water containers with potable water, it will also be a bit of extra drinking water once they thaw.
Learn about the universal edibility test. It’s best to bring food with you, and second-best to eat only things you recognize as definitely edible. But if you’re faced with a choice between eating something unknown or starving, approaching the unknown food in a rational manner can save your life.