QUESTION:

Can a dishwasher help keep your valuables safe from flooding during a hurricane?

ANSWER:

No, this is false.

SOURCES:

General Electric Director of Public Relations, Whirlpool Corporation, Environmental Protection Agency

PROCESS:

In preparation for Hurricane Irma touching down, one hurricane hack getting tons of shares among Floridians, is a post that reads a person can keep their belongings safe from flooding during a storm by putting them in a dishwasher.

The post claims that this works because dishwashers are waterproof and likely to survive a storm.

Public Relations Director, Kim Freeman from General Electric tells WUSA9, “Appliances are not waterproof. We would not recommend using the dishwasher for anything other than what it is intended for. Appliances that have been exposed to water need to be taken seriously…if owners have something valuable they want to protect, they shouldn’t rely on their dishwasher to protect it.”

Whirlpool Corporation also advised against this use, stating “Whirlpool Corporation does not recommend using appliances outside of their intended function and purpose.”

A January 2009 flood related cleaning report from the EPA states that if a dishwasher becomes flooded, it can overflow with contaminated water.