Emergency Appliance Repair

A typical appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the appliance.

If an appliance emergency occurs, unplug the appliance immediately and then call Palmer Appliance Repair for local appliance repair. If there’s an electrical fire from one of the large or small appliances inside your home, we recommend calling the local fire department even before you attempt to extinguish the fire on your own.

An electrical fire can be scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a few steps to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If one of your appliances is in flames, it’s very important not to panic and remain calm. Follow our easy guidelines to keep your home safe from electrical fires.

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

You are able to stop electrical fires before they start by following a couple of simple guidelines for appliance safety. Don’t plug in a lot of devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and then spark a fire, especially if there’s debris like clothes or paper nearby the electrical outlet.

Sometimes we forget about the apparent dangers of larger home appliances since they stay plugged in all of the time, but they still present as much of a fire hazard as small electrical appliances like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left to run overnight or while you are not at home, and do not keep a refrigerator or freezer in direct sunlight, to prevent overworking the cooling systems inside.

Examine all outlets on a regular basis for excessive heat, burn marks, and crackling or buzzing sounds that could point to electrical arcing. Be sure you have at least one smoke detector on every story of your house, and test them regularly to keep them in good working condition.

WHAT NOT TO DO

If there is an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it might be tempting to put out the flames with water, but water should never be used on an electrical fire.

Water can conduct electricity, and dumping water on or near a power source could cause a severe electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water could conduct electricity to additional areas of the room, increasing the chance of igniting more flammable items nearby.

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate step you want to do is unplug the electric appliance from the power source and call the fire department. Even if you can put out the fire on your own, it’s a good idea to have backup if the flames do get out of control.

For little fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to extinguish the fire. Covering the smoldering or burning spot with a layer of baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the flames with little risk of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance 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 blanket on fire too.

For big electrical appliance fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you have at least one Type C or multi-use fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers need to be inspected often to ensure they haven’t expired. If you have a working extinguisher in the home, just release the pin at the top, point the nozzle at the source of the fire, and press the handle. If the flames get too dangerous to put out by yourself or you think the fire might block an exit, leave the house immediately, close the door behind you, and then wait for assistance from the fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Palmer Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we will identify the reason for the fire and repair the electrical appliance and restore it to working order.

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