An empty washing machine. Picture: iStock
These five genius preparedness hacks from Home Hacks will be sure to save you and your valuables in the events of emergencies in your home such as power outages or flooding.
If you have been struck by unplanned power outages or are experiencing load shedding and have run out of store bought candles, then you can make your own homemade olive oil candles.
All you will need is a wide mouth empty cup, olive oil, a paper clip and a wick. Here is how to make your own homemade olive oil candles.
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If you are stuck in the dark with no torch, candles or olive oil to make your own emergency candles, then you can grab one of your children’s crayons for a makeshift candle.
All you need to do is ignite the tip of the crayon and ensure that the paper which is wrapped around the crayon catches fire. Your makeshift candle should last about 15-30 minutes, just enough time to make a more sufficient and safer plan.
In the event of flooding, you may not be able to save everything in your home, but you can try to save your most valuable and expensive pieces of furniture by elevating them and keeping them above ground.
If your home gets flooded, try finding some paint buckets and placing them underneath your furniture. This will keep your furniture above the water in moderate, controllable floods, and that way will ensure that your furniture does not succumb to any water damage.
Using electronics and gadgets which require batteries means sometimes running out of batteries to replace because you have forgotten to buy them and stock them.
Sometimes you may even have batteries, but they might not be the size which you need for the specific gadget that has run out of batteries.
In the event that you may need AA batteries but only have AAA batteries all you need to do is wrap up a ball of foil and stuff it into the part of your device where the battery’s negative terminal connects.
As long as you have enough foil to fill up the gap between the AAA batteries and the part where the negative terminal connect, your device should switch on.
In the event of flooding, the safest place for you to keep your electronics and important documents and files is in the dishwasher.
When the dishwashers door is closed, it is completely sealed, meaning that no water can enter it.
To be extra sure that your belongings are safe from water damage, you can conceal them in plastic zip lock bags before placing them in the dishwasher.
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