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 Accurate Gilbert Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Gilbert. If there is an electrical fire resulting from one of the large or small appliances inside of your home, we recommend calling the town fire department before attempting to extinguish the fire yourself.
An electrical fire from an appliance can be very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a few steps to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If one of your appliances goes up in flames, it’s important to not panic and to remain calm. Follow our simple guidelines to help keep your home safe from electrical fires.
PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES
You are able to prevent electrical fires from starting by following some basic rules of appliance safety. Do not plug in a lot of electrical devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring can get overloaded and then spark a fire, especially if there’s debris like clothes or paper close to the outlet.
It’s possible to forget about the apparent dangers of large home appliances because they stay plugged in all the time, but they still present as much chance for a fire hazard as small devices like toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine shouldn’t be left to run overnight or any time you are not at home, and do not place a refrigerator or freezer in direct sunlight, in order to prevent overworking their cooling systems.
Inspect all of the outlets regularly for excessive heat, burn marks, and crackling or buzzing noises that might point to electrical arcing. Be sure you store at least one smoke detector on every story of your home, and test them regularly to keep them in working order.
WHAT TO NOT DO
If there is an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it could be tempting to put out the flames with water, however water should never be used to douse an electrical appliance fire.
Water will conduct electricity, and throwing water on or near a power source could cause a dangerous electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water can conduct the electricity to other parts of the room, running the chance of igniting other flammable objects in the area.
HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE
The immediate step you should do is unplug the electric appliance from the power outlet and call your local fire department. Even if you can put out the fire on your own, it is a good idea to have help if the flames do get out of hand.
For small fires, you may be able to use baking soda to douse the flames. Covering the smoldering or burning spot with a layer of baking soda will sometimes prevent oxygen flow to the flames with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical in regulation fire extinguishers. You also may be able to put out a smaller fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only when the flames are small enough not to catch the heavy blanket on fire as well.
For larger electrical appliance fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always make sure you have at least one Type C or multi-use fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers need to be checked often to ensure they have not expired. If there’s a operational extinguisher on hand, pull the pin near the top, point the hose at the source of the fire, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to fight by yourself or you think the fire might block an exit, you should leave the house as fast as possible, close the door , and wait for help from the fire department.
For the small appliance fires, call Accurate Gilbert Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we can diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the appliance and return it to working order.
OTHER RESOURCES:
Appliance Repair Cost
Appliance Repair Tips
Appliance Safety
Repair or Replace Appliances
Refrigerator Parts