Emergency Appliance Repair

A typical appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the appliance.

If an appliance emergency arises in your house, unplug the appliance immediately and call Select Appliance Repair for local appliance repair. If there is an electrical fire involving one of the large or small appliances inside your house, we suggest calling the city fire department even before attempting to extinguish the fire on your own.

An electrical fire can be very scary and very dangerous, but there are a couple of steps to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If one of your appliances goes up in flames, it’s very important not to panic and remain calm. Follow our simple guidelines to help keep your house safe from electrical fires.

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners are able to prevent electrical fires before they start by following a few simple guidelines for appliance safety in a home. Be careful not to plug in too many electrical devices into one outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there’s debris like paper or clothes nearby the outlet.

It can be easy to forget about the apparent dangers of large household appliances since they are plugged in all of the time, but they still present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller appliances like toasters and heaters. Larger appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher should not be left running overnight or while you are not at home, and don’t place a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, to prevent possibly overworking the cooling systems inside.

Examine all outlets regularly for excessive heat, burns, and buzzing or crackling noises that might point to electrical arcing. Make sure you store at least one smoke detector on every floor of your home, and test them often to keep them in working order.

WHAT TO NOT DO

If there is an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it might be tempting to douse the flames with water, however water shouldn’t be used to fight an electrical appliance fire.

Water will conduct electricity, and throwing water on a power source might cause a harmful electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water could conduct the electricity to additional locations of the room, running the chance of igniting other flammable items in the room.

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate step you want to do is to unplug the electric appliance from the power source and call your fire department. Even if you can put out the fire on your own, it is important to have backup if the flames do get out of control.

For little fires, you might be able to use baking soda to smother the fire. Covering the smoldering or burning area with baking soda will sometimes prevent oxygen flow to the fire with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical used in standard fire extinguishers. You could be able to put out a smaller fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only if the flames are small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire too.

For big electrical fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you own at least one Type C or multi-use fire extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be inspected consistently to ensure they are not expired. If there’s a working extinguisher in the home, just release the pin near the top, point the nozzle at the flames, and press the handle. If the fire gets too big to fight by yourself or you are concerned the fire could block an exit, leave the home immediately, shut the door , and then wait for assistance from the fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Select Appliance Repair once the fire is under control and we can diagnose the reason for the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to its original condition.

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Appliance Repair Cost
Appliance Repair Tips
Appliance Safety
Repair or Replace Appliances
Refrigerator Parts