An appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the home appliance.
If an appliance emergency arises in your home, unplug the appliance right away and then call Westminster Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Westminster. If there is an electrical fire involving one of the appliances inside your home, we recommend calling the town fire department even before attempting to put out the fire on your own.
An electrical fire from an appliance can be scary and very dangerous, but there are a few ways to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If an electrical appliance goes up in flames, it is very important to not panic. Follow these simple guidelines below to help keep your house safe from electrical appliance fires.
HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES
You are able to prevent electrical fires before they start by following a couple of basic rules of appliance safety. Be sure not to plug a lot of electrical devices into a single electrical outlet—the wiring can get overloaded and spark a fire, especially when there is clutter like clothes or paper nearby the outlet.
Sometimes we forget about the apparent dangers of larger appliances since they remain plugged in all of the time, but they can present as much chance for a fire hazard as small devices like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher shouldn’t be left running overnight or while you’re not at home, and do not keep a refrigerator or freezer in direct sunlight, in order to prevent possibly overworking their cooling systems.
Check all outlets on a regular basis for extreme heat, signs of burns, and crackling or buzzing sounds that might indicate electrical arcing. Be sure you store at least one smoke detector on every floor of your house, and test them quarterly to keep them in working condition.
WHAT TO NOT DO
If there’s an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it might be tempting to douse the flames with water, but water shouldn’t be used on an electrical fire.
Water will conduct electricity, and pouring water on a power source can give a dangerous electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water might conduct electricity to other parts of the room, increasing the risk of igniting other flammable items in the room.
HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE
The first thing you need to do is unplug the electric appliance from the power outlet and call your fire department. Even if you can handle the fire on your own, it is a good idea to have help if the flames do get out of hand.
For small fires, you may be able to use baking soda to extinguish the fire. Covering the smoldering or burning area with some baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the flames with very little risk of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical used in regulation fire extinguishers. You also could be able to extinguish a smaller fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only if the flames are 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 own at least one Type C extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers should also be checked often to be sure they haven’t expired. If you have a working fire extinguisher on hand, just 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 by yourself or you think 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 Westminster Appliance Repair once the flames are extinguished and we will diagnose the reason for the fire and repair the electrical appliance and restore it to its original condition.
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