A typical appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the appliance.
If an appliance emergency occurs in your home, unplug the appliance immediately and then call QuickFix Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Sioux City. If there’s an electrical fire from one of the appliances in your house, we advise calling the local fire department even before attempting to extinguish the fire on your own.
An electrical fire from an appliance is scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a couple of ways to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If one of your appliances is in flames, it is very important to not panic. Follow these easy guidelines below to help keep your home safe from electrical appliance fires.
HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES
Homeowners can prevent electrical fires before they start by following a few basic rules of appliance safety. Do not plug in a lot of electrical devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring might become overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there’s debris like paper or clothes nearby the electrical outlet.
Sometimes we forget about the dangers of larger appliances since they stay plugged in all of the time, but they still present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller devices like toasters and heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine shouldn’t be left to run overnight or any time you are away from home, and do not place a freezer or refrigerator in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent possibly overworking their cooling systems inside.
Inspect all of the outlets on a regular basis for extreme heat, burns, and crackling or buzzing sounds that might point to electrical arcing. Be sure you store at least one smoke detector on every floor of your house, and test them often to keep them in good working order.
WHAT NOT TO DO
If there is an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it can be tempting to douse the fire with water, however water should never be used on an electrical appliance fire.
Water conducts electricity, and dumping water on or near a power source could cause a harmful electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water could conduct the electricity to additional locations of the room, increasing the risk of igniting more flammable objects in the room.
HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE
The first step you want to do is to unplug the electric appliance from the power source and call your local fire department. Even if you can handle the fire on your own, it’s a good idea to have help if the flames do get out of hand.
For small fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to douse the fire. Covering the smoking or burning spot with a layer of baking soda can prohibit oxygen flow to the fire with little risk of electrocution. Baking soda also includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the substance used in standard fire extinguishers. You could be able to extinguish a smaller fire with a heavy blanket, but only when the fire is small enough not to catch the heavy blanket on fire too.
For big electrical appliance fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should make sure you have at least one Type C fire extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers should also be inspected consistently to be sure they have not expired. If there is a operational extinguisher on hand, pull the pin at the top, point the nozzle at the source of the fire, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to fight by yourself or you are concerned the fire could block an exit, you should leave the home as fast as possible, close the door behind you, and wait for assistance from the fire department.
For the smaller appliance fires, call QuickFix Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we will diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the appliance and restore it to working order.
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