A typical appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the home appliance.
If an appliance emergency occurs, unplug the appliance immediately and call Sparks Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Sparks. If there’s an electrical fire happening with one of the appliances in your house, we recommend calling the city fire department before attempting to put out the fire yourself.
An electrical fire from an appliance is 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. Follow our easy guidelines below to help keep your home safe from electrical appliance fires.
PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES
You can stop electrical fires from ever starting by following a couple of basic rules of appliance safety. Do not plug in a lot of electrical devices into a single electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and then spark a fire, especially when there’s clutter like paper or clothes nearby the electrical outlet.
It’s possible to forget about the apparent dangers of larger residential appliances since they stay plugged in all of the time, but they can present as much of a fire hazard as small electrical devices like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left running overnight or any time you are away from home, and don’t place a refrigerator or freezer in direct sunlight, to prevent possibly overworking the cooling systems.
Check all outlets regularly for excessive heat, signs of burns, and crackling or buzzing sounds that could point to electrical arcing. Be sure you store at least one smoke detector on each story of your house, and test them quarterly to keep them in good working order.
WHAT TO NOT DO
If there is an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it can be tempting to douse the flames with water, however water shouldn’t be used to fight an electrical appliance fire.
Water conducts electricity, and pouring water on a power source might cause a harmful electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water could conduct the electricity to other parts of the room, increasing the risk of igniting more flammable items in the room.
HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE
The first step you need to do is to unplug the appliance from the power outlet and call your local fire department. Even if you can handle the fire yourself, it is a good idea to have help if the fire does get out of hand.
For minor fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to extinguish the flames. Covering the fuming or burning spot with baking soda can block oxygen flow to the fire with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same chemical in standard fire extinguishers. You also could be able to smother a smaller fire with a heavy blanket, but only if the flames are small enough not to catch the heavy blanket on fire.
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 should also be checked often to make sure they haven’t expired. If you have a operational fire extinguisher on hand, just pull the pin at the top, aim the nozzle at the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to fight alone or you are concerned the fire may block an exit, leave the house right away, close the door behind you, and wait for help from the fire department.
For the smaller appliance fires, call Sparks 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.
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