To think it’s unnecessary to turn the tv off in a storm

[Izzy24]

Especially when we don’t have an
aerial..?

[unicorn56]

I didn't even know turning your tv off in a storm was a thing

[DramaAlpaca]

It used to be a thing many years ago, but I haven't heard that it's necessary now. I wonder if there was a reason for it or if it was an old wives tale.

[KlutzyDraconequus]

that's an old thing when TV sets were tubular I believe. the lightning hitting the aerial blew the tubes out.
but tubular TVs haven't been a thing for decades.

[e1y1]

My grandma used to insist EVERYthing was unplugged in a storm, stopping short of the fridge freezer (and only just).

Suppose way back when it was the done thi g, especially with TVs, as they had the big tubes in the back and suppose if lighting hit the Arieal and went in to TV it would have most likely blown (not sure though)"

Nowadays, no wouldn’t say necessary, LCD TVs, hardly using aerials, appliances with surge protection and better power supplies.

[heatherblue]

My mum used to cover all the mirrors during storms, no idea why. It used to freak me out.

[GothMummy]

Oh I thought you were still supposed to do it! I run round switching things off in a storm...

[PenelopeFlintstone]

You have to do it in places where the electricity cables are above ground, I know. It's for when the poles get hit by lightening.

[GothMummy]

Oh I would love to know why mirrors should be covered though....I hope someone comes to enlighten me!

[Butterflykissess]

My mum use to say it if the tv was next to a window

[Nothisispatrick]

Growing up my dad used to rush around turning everything off during a storm, never understood why.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

We had a washing machine damaged from a thunderstorm, so I want to go and unplug everything but do not want to go out of bed in case the dogs wake up.

[AornisHades]

An electrician friend of mine did show me some photos of sockets after a house had been struck by lightning. The house was OK but the sockets had melted.
I unplug my computer if I know it's coming.

[AirandMungBeans]

DH swears blind that you shouldn't have a shower or bath in a storm. Can't say I've really given it that much thought before, but I'm curious now.

[Wacadu]

I didn't think about it until my house was hit and it melted the computer. I still don't unplug things though.

[DontDrinkDontSmoke]

The last bad lightning storm here blew up our broadband. It took 2 weeks for BT to come and sort it because it had happened to hundreds of homes. The engineer told me some customers had lost their TVs too.

[KlutzyDraconequus]

I think there was a lot of superstition and missunderstandings about lightning.

covering mirrors I believe was to stop the lightning bouncing around the room.
there was also an old.one about opening windows to let lightning out.
odd..

[DontDrinkDontSmoke]

When I lived in Oz we didn’t use the house phone during a storm.

[Lemoncurd]

Last year our Tv, Virgin Media box, sound system, Apple TV and telephone all were damaged and stopped working due to storm. Wish we had unplugged them!

[Ski40]

I've heard a lot of horror stories on the subject 😨 Apparently you need to unplug everything you can, stay away from phones and taps and never leave two windows open that face each other. No idea if anything has any real base to it, but I figure it can't hurt to be cautious. I do most of that just because it's been drummed into me since I was little. We had epic storms where I grew up!

[WankStainWasher]

Approximately one-third of all lightning strike injuries occur indoors.

Avoid the bath, shower, even washing up in the sink if lightning is close. Lightning can travel through plumbing.

Don't use the house phone (corded phone) - lightning can travel through the wires and can deafen or worst case, kill.

Avoid electrical equipment because again, lightning can travel through electrical, tv and radio transmitting systems.

The mirror thing - I think that's superstition though!

[PastBananas]

I still unplug the tv during a big storm (mainly because we live near a big tv transmitter that always gets hit so we lose the tv signal anyway) and nowadays we unplug the internet router as well.

When we first moved here the electricity would go off every time there was a thunderstorm (pretty rural) and I still get the candles/torch ready in case.

[BlankTimes]

In theory, I'd unplug anything that didn't have a surge protector on it.

In practise I unplug the telly and PC anyway even though they both have them, because a few years ago during a storm, something caused some 'hissing' in my PC Tower and a small intense beam of white of light came out of the front of the tower and shot across the room where it hit a radiator and there was an almighty bang.
I was walking across the room at the time and it missed me by about 2 inches. It all happened so quickly it's hard to explain.
I had to get the BT engineer out as it had zapped the phone and the PC.

[Bubblysqueak]

when I was little lightening blew our tv. I only remember as we were without a t.v. for 3 weeks ! so I religiously unplug during a storm just out of habit and the memory if no tv !

[Tammy81]

It used to be unplug the TV, unplug the aerial an place the aerial cable on the floor. Don't know what it is now

[PositiveVibez]

Omg that has just took me back years!! My mum used to unplug EVERYTHING Inthe house when there was a slight storm 😂

She still unplugs everything before going to bed. My sister does too.