Hurricane Guide: Check your kit now for expired items

Emergency managers often preach the gospel of preparedness and, at the start of every hurricane season, encourage people to put together a kit of canned food, water, medicines, flashlights and batteries.

Maybe you still have yours from last year … or from 2008, or 2007. But should you really drink water you put in the kit years ago? What about the expiration dates on those canned foods - looked at them lately? Do those batteries still hold a charge?

It’s important that anyone who hasn’t yet put together a kit do so, said Bob Spieldenner, director of public affairs for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Those who have one might be ahead of the game, but they still need to check that the supplies are good.

“It all has a shelf life,” he said.

He suggests checking the contents of the kit every six months. Check expiration dates on cans, medicines, items in the first-aid kit, and even water.

Replace any expired items, and keep the kit ready at all times during the year – even when we’re not officially in hurricane season. You might have use for it during a power outage, a nor’easter or snowstorm.

When you find items that are about to expire, consider an end-of-storm-season picnic. Spieldenner has heard of people holding them to avoid wasting food and water.

And if that water turns out to be too old to drink, it’s not a complete loss. Keep it on hand as “gray water” for flushing toilets or watering plants.

Lauren King, (757) 446-2309, lauren.king@pilotonline.com