A typical appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the household appliance.
If an appliance emergency happens in your home, unplug the appliance immediately and then call Gold Glendale Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in California. If there’s an electrical fire happening with one of the appliances in your house, we suggest calling the fire department even before you try to extinguish the fire on your own.
An electrical fire from an appliance can be 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 is in flames, it’s important to not panic. Follow our easy guidelines below to help keep your home safe from electrical appliance fires.
Homeowners can prevent electrical fires from starting by following some basic rules of appliance safety in a home. Don’t plug in a lot of electrical devices into one outlet—the wiring can get overloaded and then spark a fire, especially when there’s debris like paper or clothes close to the electrical outlet.
Sometimes we forget about the dangers of large home appliances because they are plugged in all of the time, but they still present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller appliances like toasters and heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left running overnight or while you’re away from home, and do not place a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent possibly overworking the cooling systems.
Inspect all outlets on a regular basis for extreme heat, burns, and crackling or buzzing noises that might point to electrical arcing. Make sure you keep at least one smoke detector on each floor of your home, and test them regularly to keep them in working order.
If there’s an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it could be tempting to douse the flames with water, however water should never be used to fight an electrical fire.
Water can conduct electricity, and throwing water on or near a power source could give a dangerous electrical shock. It could even make the fire even worse. Water can conduct the electricity to additional locations of the room, running the risk of igniting other flammable items in the room.
The first thing you want to do is to unplug the device from the power source and call your fire department. Even if you think you are able to take care of the fire on your own, it’s a good idea to have backup if the fire does get out of hand.
For minor fires, you might be able to use baking soda to douse the fire. Covering the smoking or burning spot with baking soda can prohibit oxygen flow to the flames with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical in standard fire extinguishers. You might be able to smother a smaller fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only if the fire is small enough to not catch the blanket on fire.
For larger electrical appliance fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you own at least one Type C extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers need to be checked consistently to ensure they haven’t expired. If there’s a operational fire extinguisher in the home, just pull the pin at the top, aim the hose at the fire, and press the handle. If the flames get too big to fight by yourself or you think the fire might block an exit, you should leave the house right away, close the door behind you, and then wait for assistance from the local fire department.
For the small appliance fires, call Gold Glendale Appliance Repair once the fire is extinguished and we will diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the appliance and restore it to its original condition.
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