CenterPoint status and when food in the fridge is gone

The house is quiet in a way that is not peaceful. First question is not the ice cream. First question is whether the grid is out or your breaker is just wet.

CenterPoint’s outage map is the live board for most of Houston. If the neighborhood is dark, you are on a clock for the fridge. If only you are dark, you may have a house problem, not a grid problem.

Do not keep opening the door to “check.” Every peek spends the cold you have left.

Do this now

1. Look up your address on the CenterPoint outage map. Report the outage there or by phone if you are not on the map.
2. If you smell gas or see a downed line, stay out and call 911 or CenterPoint. Do not play with the meter.
3. Keep fridge and freezer doors shut. Move critical meds first if you must open it.
4. Plan the food: what can go in a cooler with ice, what is already trash.

The usual food clock

A closed fridge generally holds safe temps for about four hours. A full freezer can hold a day or two if you leave it shut. A half-full freezer is closer to one day. These are the common public-health rules of thumb, not a lab report on your particular Kenmore. If the food sat above 40 F for more than two hours, perishable stuff is done. When in doubt, throw it out. Houston heat makes the clock faster once you start opening doors.

What is actually trash

Meat, dairy, cut fruit, leftovers, and anything slimy or off-smell. Eggs. Soft cheeses. Opened sauces that needed the cold. You can usually keep unopened condiments that are high-acid if they stayed reasonably cool, but do not invent a science project. Frozen food that still has ice crystals can sometimes be refrozen or cooked. Food that thawed into a warm puddle cannot. Do not taste to test.

When power comes back

If the fridge ran warm, do not “save” the milk because the light is on now. The clock already ran. If the panel or outlets took water, do not celebrate the return of power by plugging everything in. Get an electrician before you energize a wet kitchen. A hum in the walls is not a good sign. CenterPoint restoring the street is not the same as your wet house being ready.

Do this next

1. Generator placement so you do not kill someone with CO
2. Extension cords, wet floors, and electrical sense
3. Water cleanup hub

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