No sewing during storms; always unplug the machine when not in use. Surge protector.

I don't sew -- or cook, or wash dishes, or do laundry, or talk on the phone -- during electrical storms.............. because I'm usually snuggled in bed with a good book and the covers over my head!! :o :D

Jan in VA

No I never sew during a thunder storm & I always unplug several things including my sewing machines

If the problem is when you are in FL, call your energy company and get a power surge protector that fits in your electirc meter. There's no guarantee it will take care of your problem, but it should help. We have one, plus surge protectors inside the house on power strips for my machines. Another thing would be to have GFI outlets to plug into. If you are in an older house it probably doesn't have GFI outlets. You can replace the outlets with new GFI outlets easily. They are more sensitive to power interruptions. I sew during storms and have never had a problem. I do put my blinds down though. Just don't use your land line phone during a storm.

Jim put a surge protector on my machine and the computer as well. I usually am not sewing during storms, as most of them seem to happen at night when I am in, or about to be in bed.

I havehad to be replaced, but they saved the things pluged into them.y most expensive machine plugged into a power back up box. This was suggested by my dealer. I also have a whole house surge protector. The power strips may not be surge procetor, but do help. We had a major surge and it blew out the board on my clothes dryer, but the items in power strips were ok. Some of the strips

Sorry the above is goofy, for some reason it mixed itself up.

After losing a laptop, garage door opener, TV, and several other lesser valued things to a lightning strike, no, I don't do any of those things during a thunder storm. Everything I can reach the plug for gets unplugged. Not sure I'd even trust a surge protector to stop the "surge" caused by a lightning strike. My sewing machine gets unplugged any time I am not using it. Living in south Alabama, we can have a thunder storm pop up in an instant during the summer. I unplug everything before I leave the house during the summer.

Nope. I don't even like to be on the phone during a thunder storm. About 20 years ago, when I was working in customer care for a well known company, a co-worker was on the phone during a thunder storm, just doing her job, when suddenly she quite literally was blown out of her chair. Lightning hit something and found it's way out through her phone and through her, and the chair she was sitting in. She or the chair must have been was grounded, maybe by the soles of her shoes, or perhaps the carpeting on the floor was rubberized. She was ok, no permanent damage. The phone wasn't as lucky.

I disconnect my sewing machines from the electricity so they will not be damaged by a power surge during a storm.

Yea, we don't see a whole lot of Thunder storms South of Santa Barbara either.

I see you list Naples as one of your locations. I've been in this area for 36 years and I have learned to always unplug my sewing machines and iron - especially in summer. We get some pretty intense storms with lots of lightening and I won't trust my babies to any surge protector. Better safe than sorry so it's now a habit to unplug everything when I'm done and no I won't sew during a thunderstorm either!! I've had stuff fried before and FPL will only reimburse you for a fraction of what it's worth. Just my 2 cents worth

If it is really bad, yes, I do unplug my sewing machines. And my computer. But it has to be very close and very violent. It doesn't happen very often here.

If I cannot count to 10 between thunder clap and lightening flash, I pull the plugs. On everything. Twice now we have have lightening hit nearby and create backup surges and ruin a lot of expensive electronics, including the refrigerator. NOW I know to pull the plugs for the duration. Usually doesn't last long, and saves a lot of money on replacement. I sure would not want to replace my computerized machine and lightening is not covered by homeowners

I've always heard that you should unplug all electronics during storms because unless you have the really good surge protectors, you can still have problems. I have my surge protectors mounted on the wall so I can easily unplug them when I'm thru sewing. I'm not taking any chances with my Bernina.

My sewing machine is the most expensive computer in our house. I don't sew during storms. We have a whole house surge protector installed, I plug my machine into a surge protector, and I still unplug my machine every time I stop using it. I don't want to take any chances with my sewing machine!

I've had more of a problem from power outages being restored than from storms. The worst outage was due to someone running their vehicle into the power pole somewhere down the main road. Major surge when the power came back on several hours later. Got an error message on my almost brand new electric range. Stove top works fine but haven't figured out how to reset digital display in order to use oven. Tech support was less than helpful - just told me what the error code meant.

I have several treadle machines so that I can sew when we have thunderstorms. :cool:
Sharon in Texas

I always unplug my machines and our computer stuff if lightning is forecast or around. We had lightning hit one of our vent pipes on the roof, maybe the attic fan. It had electricity to it to run a motor. The lightning went from the attic fan to all the wiring in our house. Damaged TVs. radio system. Lightning is powerful enough to blow through most any strip or surge protector. So please unplug and do not sew during lightning storms.

I am very protective of my sewing machine! No sewing during electrical storms for me!! I unplug my machine too, even with the surge protector. I would some day love to own a treadle machine so I can sew any time I want, but I am still looking & saving for it right now.