Emergency Appliance Repair

A typical appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even a fire coming from the appliance.

In the event of an appliance emergency in your house, unplug the appliance immediately and then call Anderson’s Appliance Repair for local appliance repair. If there is an electrical fire happening with one of the appliances inside of your home, we suggest calling the local fire department even before you try to eliminate the fire on your own.

An electrical fire from an appliance is very scary and very dangerous, but there are a couple of ways to be prepared in case of an emergency. If one of your appliances goes up in flames, it is important to not panic. Follow our simple guidelines below to keep your home safe from electrical appliance fires.

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners can prevent electrical fires from starting by following a couple of simple guidelines for appliance safety in a home. Be careful not to plug more than two devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially when there’s debris like clothes or paper close to the electrical outlet.

It’s possible to forget about the apparent dangers of large residential appliances because they are plugged in all the time, but they still present as much of a fire hazard as smaller electrical appliances like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher should not be left running overnight or while you’re away from home, and do not place a freezer or refrigerator in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent overworking their cooling systems.

Inspect all of the outlets regularly for excessive heat, burns, and crackling or buzzing noises that could point to electrical arcing. Make sure you have at least one working smoke detector on every floor of your home, and test the smoke detectors quarterly to keep them in good working order.

WHAT NOT TO DO

If there is an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it could be tempting to douse the fire with water, however water should not be used to fight an electrical appliance fire.

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

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate thing you need to do is to unplug the electric device from the power source and call the local fire department. Even if you can extinguish the fire yourself, it’s a good idea to have help if the flames do get out of hand.

For smaller fires, you could be able to use baking soda to extinguish the fire. Covering the fuming or burning spot with some baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the fire with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the substance used in regulation fire extinguishers. You also may be able to smother a small fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only when the fire is small enough not to catch the blanket on fire too.

For big electrical fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should make sure you have at least one Type C extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers should also be checked often to ensure they are not expired. If there’s a working extinguisher on hand, pull the pin at the top, aim the hose at the source of the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the flames get too big to put out alone or you are concerned the fire could block an exit, leave the house right away, shut the door , and wait for assistance from the fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Anderson’s Appliance Repair once the fire is under control and we will diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and restore it to its original condition.

OTHER RESOURCES:

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