Emergency Appliance Repair

An appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even a fire coming from the household appliance.

If an appliance emergency occurs in your house, unplug the appliance right away and then call Reed Appliance Repair for local appliance repair. If there is an electrical fire resulting from one of the appliances in your house, we recommend calling the town fire department before you try to put out the fire by yourself.

An electrical fire from an appliance is scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a couple of steps to be prepared in case of an emergency. If one of your appliances goes up in flames, it’s important to not panic and to remain calm. Follow these simple guidelines below to keep your house safe from electrical appliance fires.

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners are able to prevent electrical fires from ever starting by following a few basic guidelines for appliance safety. Be sure not to plug in a lot of devices into a single electrical outlet—the wiring can become overloaded and then spark a fire, especially if there is clutter like clothes or paper nearby the outlet.

Sometimes we forget about the apparent dangers of large household appliances because they remain plugged in all the time, but they present as much chance for a fire hazard as small electrical devices like kitchen toasters and heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left running overnight or while you are away from home, and try not to place a freezer or refrigerator in line of direct sunlight, to prevent overworking their cooling systems.

Examine all outlets on a regular basis for extreme heat, burns, and buzzing or crackling 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 good working order.

WHAT NOT TO DO

If there is an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it might be tempting to put out the fire with water, but water should not be used to douse an electrical appliance fire.

Water conducts electricity, and throwing water on or near a power source might cause a harmful electrical shock. It could even make the fire worse. Water could conduct the electricity to additional parts of the room, increasing the chance of igniting other flammable objects nearby.

HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate thing you should do is to unplug the electric appliance from the power outlet and call your fire department. Even if you can put out the fire on your own, it’s important to have backup if the flames do get out of hand.

For minor fires, you may be able to use baking soda to smother the flames. Covering the smoking or burning area with some baking soda can block oxygen flow to the flames with very little chance of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical used in standard fire extinguishers. You also may be able to put out a small fire with a heavy blanket, but only if the fire is small enough not to catch the blanket on fire as well.

For large electrical fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should be sure you have at least one Type C or multi-use extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be inspected consistently to make sure they have not expired. If there is a operational fire extinguisher on hand, release the pin near the top, point the nozzle at the source of the fire, and squeeze the handle. If the flames get too dangerous to put out alone or you are concerned the fire may block an exit, you should leave the house right away, close the door , and wait for assistance from the local fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Reed Appliance Repair once the fire is extinguished and we can identify the reason for the fire and repair the appliance and restore it to working order.

OTHER RESOURCES:

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