Expert consulted: 
You’ve likely heard this same advice from your parents, just as the sky turns gray: Unplug everything before the storm hits. It can seem extreme—everything?!—especially in the age of smart homes and surge protectors, but the guidance holds up.
Lightning doesn't need to strike your house to do damage—a strike on or near a power line down the block can send a voltage spike surging through your home's wiring and into anything plugged into it.
While you don’t need to disconnect every single item in your home, there are some items that are definitely worth unplugging, says Dan DiClerico, director of the Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab.
When to unplug
The window to act is before the storm arrives. Once lightning strikes nearby, you should stay away from outlets and plugged-in electronics entirely—reaching for that cord during an active storm puts you in the path of the very surge you're trying to avoid, according to the National Weather Service.
Here’s what to prioritize around your home and why that power strip may not be doing what you think.
What to unplug first
Start with the most expensive electronics in the house. "Home entertainment systems, including the TV and stereo equipment, can get fried by a power surge brought on by a lightning strike or other fault in your home's wiring," says DiClerico. "You could be looking at thousands of dollars in replacement costs."
Home office equipment—computers, printers, monitors—should be next on the list, since it's similarly pricey and just as vulnerable to voltage spikes.
Will a power strip protect my electronics?
Nope. This is a common, and potentially costly, misunderstanding. "A standard power strip won't protect electronics from voltage spikes," says DiClerico. "You really need to spend more on a proper surge protector."
The two look nearly identical, with multiple outlets and an on/off switch that makes it easy to power everything down at once. The difference is inside: Surge protectors have built-in sensors that detect power spikes and instantly divert that surplus electricity away from your devices.
A common misconception
Many people think every power strip has surge protection. "A lot of people assume that all power strips also protect their devices, when in fact only actual surge protectors provide that level of protection," says DiClerico. "In other words, not all power strips are surge protectors."
And even a true surge protector has limits—the National Weather Service notes that a typical one will do little against a close lightning strike, which is why unplugging remains the only foolproof protection.
The bottom line
When a storm is in the forecast, unplug the big-ticket electronics first—the TV, the stereo, the home office—and do it before the lightning arrives, not during. A surge protector is a smart, everyday safeguard, but a power strip isn't one, and it doesn't replace pulling the plug.
Having written thousands of product reviews and how-to articles on all aspects of home ownership, from routine maintenance to major renovations, Dan (he/him) brings more than 20 years of industry experience to his role as the director of the Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute. A one-time roofer and a serial remodeler, Dan can often be found keeping house at his restored Brooklyn brownstone, where he lives with his wife and kids.
