There have been a lot of tips coming from social media during Florence so far. While some are great, some are completely false. Here's are a few of the most repeated.
DISHWASHERS CAN PROTECT YOUR VALUABLES
This has been popping up a lot. Sometimes with pictures, sometimes not. The base claim often looks like:
"Your dishwasher can be a waterproof safe: It’s sealed to keep water in, so it should do just fine keeping it out too. Just make sure all your dishes are taken out before loading up important documents or belongings."
However, when asked about this possibility, multiple dishwasher manufacturers said that claim is false.
"Appliances are not waterproof. We would not recommend what you are proposing nor would we recommend using an appliance for anything other than what it is designed for," GE Spokesperson Kim Freeman said.
We're ruling this one false.
TAKE PHOTOS AND VIDEO FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES
This is a simple claim that pops up a lot.Take photos or videos of the inside and outside of your house. The claim says those recordings can act as a quick and easy way to make insurance claims should damage occur.
Well, this one's clear! VERIFY spoke to North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein who said this is a great tip for all in the path of the storm.
AT&T/VERIZON/TMOBILE ARE GIVING FREE SERVICE DURING FLORENCE
This only applies to certain area codes in the path of the storm, but it's true.
Verizon announced that they are giving "unlimited domestic Talk, Text & Data to active customers in these zip codes."
AT&T said: "We plan to provide unlimited talk, text, and data for AT&T wireless and AT&T PREPAID customers in areas most affected by Hurricane Florence."
T-Mobile said: "T-Mobile is now offering free calling/texting/data for active customers in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Maryland who are not already on an unlimited plan like T-Mobile ONE, Simple Choice, Simply Prepaid or Metro PCS."
RECORD A VOICEMAIL WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE SERVICE
This is a post circling the internet and claims that a good way to alert others to where you are and how you're doing is to record a voicemail. That way when people call your phone and you don't have service, they will get to your voicemail and know your situation.
The claim is that you can update your voicemail even without phone or wifi service.
The only problem? While you can record new voicemails without service on some phones, they require phone service to upload. This means that users who don't have cell service won't be able to do this.
This claim is false.
