Emergency Appliance Repair

An appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even a fire coming from the home appliance.

In the event of an appliance emergency, unplug the appliance immediately and call Owens Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in CITY. If there’s an electrical fire from one of the large or small appliances inside of your home, we recommend calling the fire department even before you try to extinguish the fire by yourself.

An electrical fire from an appliance is very scary and very dangerous, but there are a few steps to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If an appliance is in flames, it’s important to not panic. Follow our simple guidelines below to keep your home safe from electrical fires.

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

You are able to prevent electrical fires from starting by following a few basic rules of appliance safety. Be sure not to plug in too many electrical devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring can get overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there’s clutter like clothes or paper close to the electrical outlet.

It can be easy to forget about the dangers of larger residential appliances because they stay plugged in all the time, but they present as much chance for a fire hazard as small devices like toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left running overnight or any time you’re away from home, and don’t place a freezer or refrigerator in direct sunlight, in order to prevent possibly overworking their cooling systems inside.

Check all of the outlets on a regular basis for excessive heat, burns, and crackling or buzzing sounds that could indicate electrical arcing. Be sure you store at least one working smoke detector on every floor of your house, and test them often to keep them in good working condition.

WHAT NOT TO DO

If there’s an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it can be tempting to douse the flames with water, however water shouldn’t be used to fight an electrical fire.

Water can conduct electricity, and throwing water on a power source can give a severe electrical shock. It could even make the fire worse. Water might conduct the electricity to additional areas of the room, running the chance of igniting more flammable objects in the area.

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The first step you should do is to unplug the appliance from the power outlet and call the fire department. Even if you think you can put out the fire by yourself, it’s a good idea to have backup if the fire does get out of control.

For minor fires, you may be able to pour on baking soda to smother the fire. Covering the smoking or burning spot with some baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the flames with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance in standard fire extinguishers. You could be able to put out a smaller fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only if the fire is small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire.

For large electrical appliance fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always make sure you own at least one Type C extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers should also be checked regularly to be sure they haven’t expired. If there’s a working extinguisher on hand, just release the pin at the top, point the nozzle at the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to fight alone or you think the fire may block an exit, you should leave the house immediately, shut the door behind you, and wait for assistance from the local fire department.

For the small appliance fires, call Owens Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we can diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and restore it to working order.

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Appliance Safety
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