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Post by pierkiss on Jul 21, 2016 22:57:07 GMT
No. I am not normally an unplugger during a thunderstorm.
If it is a particularly bad lightning heavy storm I might unplug the computers and tvs.
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Post by beanbuddymom on Jul 21, 2016 23:21:26 GMT
Yes we are an unplugger family. My cousin lost her large flat screen TV a week after she bought it as well as many of her items in her home office from lightening, and I had my modem/router zapped in a lightening storm as well so I take it seriously because it was a huge PIA to get my home office back up and running after I lost the modem/router since it took a long while to figure out what exactly had gone awry (plug, wiring, modem, etc.)
We unplug the modem/router, we unplug anything that's charging (laptops, phones, etc.) and I unplug the TV, DVR, and kids video game systems.
It only takes a few minutes to unplug but it would take a lot of money to replace and for me working from home would be a hardship to have to replace things if they were lost from lightening. The modem situation was a 3 day nightmare and I don't wish to deal with it or anything similar again.
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Post by anxiousmom on Jul 21, 2016 23:58:13 GMT
I unplug the big stuff. We get big, daily, awful thunder/lightening storms here in the summer time, so I am constantly unplugging.
Just as an FYI, you also need to disconnect the cable leading into your tv systems. A lightening surge can travel through that conduit also.
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sharlag
Drama Llama
I like my artsy with a little bit of fartsy.
Posts: 6,574
Location: Kansas
Jun 26, 2014 12:57:48 GMT
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Post by sharlag on Jul 22, 2016 1:30:47 GMT
Once a surge protector is hit, it is gone. I didn't know this! How do you know if it's been 'hit'?
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PLurker
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Jun 28, 2014 3:48:49 GMT
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Post by PLurker on Jul 22, 2016 2:15:04 GMT
Not an unplugger but do have surge protectors. But we did have a tornado go through here when the kids were at more impressionable ages of 8 and 10. It came down about 50 feet from the house and went out back and took the barn away. And many other houses in it's miles long path. So the kids still to this day have their precious-to-them-items "emergency bags" ready to head to the basement along with their pets. In fact it is stormy tonight and cat carrier up with DD and cat, leash is ready by door and I'm sure their bags are ready. DD even has tupperware container for her fish at ready. So while we don't unplug, we have a "bug-out" plan of sorts to save pets and precious to kids things. The "stuff" doesn't matter as much.
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eastcoastpea
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Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
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Post by eastcoastpea on Jul 22, 2016 2:20:25 GMT
I unplug about half of everything.
I never thought about making sure everyone has shoes on in case they have to climb through stuff. That's a very good idea.
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Post by gale w on Jul 22, 2016 2:39:01 GMT
I unplug my sewing machine (which cost me $1400) and if my phone is charging I'll unplug it. Sometimes we'll unplug the landlines. That's pretty much it. My kids will unplug their laptops if they're plugged in.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Jul 22, 2016 3:05:53 GMT
No I do not unplug. I think that about 95% of the plugs in my house require you to move or crawl under pieces of furniture. Storm would probably be over by the time I got to them all. Same for us!
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Post by AussieMeg on Jul 22, 2016 5:46:23 GMT
No I am not an unplugger.
However it the power goes off I will usually turn the computer off at the powerpoint so there is not a surge when the power comes back on.
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Post by miominmio on Jul 22, 2016 6:00:20 GMT
I'm too lazy to unplug, but after last week when my mom's TV got fried, I might change that.
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Post by ExpatBackHome on Jul 22, 2016 6:43:42 GMT
No, I don't unplug. It seems I would be unplugging all the time. I will unplug something that's charging if it's near me.
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sueg
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Apr 12, 2016 12:51:01 GMT
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Post by sueg on Jul 22, 2016 6:50:53 GMT
I used to unplug everything and not use the phone during a thunder storm, but shortly after moving here, I was talking to some German friends and when I mentioned it they all laughed and asked why. Everything here - power, phone, internet - is underground, so doesn't get struck by lightning. We don't have a landline phone anyway, so also not an issue.We don't get hurricanes and tornadoes.
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SweetieBsMom
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 25, 2014 19:55:12 GMT
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Post by SweetieBsMom on Jul 22, 2016 11:48:36 GMT
Computers and TVs are plugged in to surge protectors. But computers are off during storms.
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tuesdaysgone
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Jun 26, 2014 18:26:03 GMT
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Post by tuesdaysgone on Jul 22, 2016 12:02:16 GMT
We became unpluggers several years ago when our house was struck by lightening and it blew up everything...including the surge protectors. We had to replace TVs and computers. We won't unplug for an everyday-run-of-the-mill storm, just for the huge storms. That might happen only once or twice a summer.
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Post by melanell on Jul 22, 2016 14:38:26 GMT
When I was a kid, we'd always scurry around the house unplugging anything, but now, I never do.
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Deleted
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May 14, 2024 3:39:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2016 15:02:49 GMT
I only unplug my laptop and I don't take a shower until the lightning is gone. Add computers and televisions to this. Staying out of the shower/bath is also a rule in our house. Lighting is too unpredictable to risk it.
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Post by meridon on Jul 22, 2016 15:27:35 GMT
Do you unplug things to protect them lightning? I'm talking about thunderstorms, not hurricanes. What else do you do when it's stormy? In a tornado warning, I like to make sure everyone is wearing shoes in case we have to crawl out of the rubble. ETA: I'm not an 'unplugger'. In addition to shoes, we have the kids also wear bike helmets, if we are in the direct path of a tornado. Research shows that a lot of tornado deaths come from head and chest injuries as a result of being hit with flying debris. I haven't read the whole thread, so someone else might have mentioned it already.
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Post by krazykatlady on Jul 22, 2016 19:22:35 GMT
We found out the hard way that you can't just unplug from the wall outlet. If it's connected via cable you need to unplug that too. We lost two TVs, a modem, and a router before that lesson was learned.
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Post by kckckc on Jul 22, 2016 19:31:25 GMT
I do not unplug.
We lost our garage door opener to lightning - even if I were unplugging, it would never have occurred to me to unplug it.
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Post by Woobster on Jul 22, 2016 21:07:49 GMT
We're not unpluggers. We have surge protectors on everything.
That said, our modem got fried just this week. DH had to take it in and exchange it for a new one.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Jul 22, 2016 21:12:58 GMT
We generally don't have lightening and/or thunder storms so no. When I lived in Baton Rouge we had incredible storms almost daily in the summer but I never unplugged anything. Of course, that was before people had computers.
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jayfab
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Post by jayfab on Jul 22, 2016 21:15:02 GMT
Not usually.
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Post by lisae on Jul 22, 2016 21:30:35 GMT
Last night when we were having a storm and I was tying a response to this very post, I was saying No, I only unplug my laptop which fortunately was unplugged. That is when the power went off and on and broke my Internet connection. When the storm ended, our cable box was zapped and we just got our Internet and phone back late this afternoon (which actually is very good response time, I think).
So we may be unplugging a few more things in future.
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Post by Suziee2 on Jul 22, 2016 22:39:32 GMT
Once a surge protector is hit, it is gone. I didn't know this! How do you know if it's been 'hit'? Not sure other than we found out the hard way when everything fried. I was talking about this with our off-site computer tech today, and he agreed, but didn't say how you would know. Good question.
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dald222
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 27, 2014 0:50:15 GMT
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Post by dald222 on Jul 22, 2016 23:52:22 GMT
I always unplug my computer but it has a surge protector... a friend many yrs ago told me of a story that happened to her.. it was a storm... she was talking on phone..the person invited her somewhere so she put the phone down on kitchen table to ask if her hubby could go & the lighting went through the phone & burned the front of the refridgeator.
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ginacivey
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Jun 25, 2014 19:18:36 GMT
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Post by ginacivey on Jul 22, 2016 23:56:58 GMT
If there's a tornado warning we all wear shoes, the kids wear their bike helmets, and we get in the bathtub and put a twin size mattress over us. for a 'watch' - i don't think we prepare like that until the sirens go off or the weather radio is telling us to take cover.
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Post by myshelly on Jul 23, 2016 1:04:33 GMT
If there's a tornado warning we all wear shoes, the kids wear their bike helmets, and we get in the bathtub and put a twin size mattress over us. for a 'watch' - i don't think we prepare like that until the sirens go off or the weather radio is telling us to take cover. For me the point is when the sirens go off it's too late to prepare. When the sirens go off it means go to the safe place, which should already be ready. The purpose of a watch is to give you advanced notice to prepare.
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