A typical appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even a fire coming from the home appliance.
In the event of an appliance emergency in your home, unplug the appliance immediately and then call One Call Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in North Carolina. If there’s an electrical fire resulting from one of the large or small appliances inside of your house, we advise calling the local fire department even before attempting to put out the fire by yourself.
An electrical fire can be very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a couple of steps to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If one of your appliances is in flames, it’s important not to panic. Follow these easy guidelines to keep your home safe from electrical fires.
You can prevent electrical fires from starting by following some basic guidelines for appliance safety. Be sure not to plug a lot of electrical devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring can get overloaded and spark a fire, especially when there is debris like clothes or paper nearby the electrical outlet.
Sometimes we forget about the apparent dangers of larger residential appliances because they remain plugged in all of the time, but they can present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller devices like toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine shouldn’t be left to run overnight or while you’re away from home, and don’t place a refrigerator or freezer in direct sunlight, to prevent overworking the cooling systems.
Check all of the outlets on a regular basis for excessive heat, burn marks, and crackling or buzzing sounds that might point to electrical arcing. Be sure you keep at least one smoke detector on each story of your home, and test the smoke detectors quarterly to keep them in good working condition.
If there is an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it might be tempting to put out the fire with water, however water should never be used to fight an electrical appliance fire.
Water can conduct electricity, and throwing water on or near a power source can give a dangerous electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water can conduct electricity to additional areas of the room, running the risk of igniting more flammable objects nearby.
The first thing you want to do is to unplug the appliance from the power outlet and call the fire department. Even if you can put out the fire on your own, it is a good idea to have backup if the flames do get out of hand.
For little fires, you might be able to pour on baking soda to douse the flames. Covering the smoking or burning area with baking soda can block oxygen flow to the flames with very little chance of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance used in regulation fire extinguishers. You might be able to put out a smaller fire with a heavy blanket, but only when the flames are small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire.
For big electrical appliance fires, use 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 checked often to be sure they have not expired. If you have a working extinguisher in the home, pull the pin at the top, aim the nozzle at the source of the fire, and press the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to put out alone or you are concerned the fire could block an exit, you should leave the home right away, close the door , and then wait for assistance from the fire department.
For the smaller appliance fires, call One Call Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we will diagnose the reason for the fire and repair the electrical appliance and restore it to working order.
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