A typical appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the appliance.
In the event of an appliance emergency, unplug the appliance right away and call Albany Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Albany. If there’s an electrical fire happening with one of the large or small appliances inside of your home, we advise calling the city fire department before you attempt to put out the fire yourself.
An electrical fire from an appliance is very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a couple of steps to be prepared in case of an emergency. If an appliance goes up in flames, it’s very important not to panic and to remain calm. Follow our simple guidelines below to help keep your house safe from electrical fires.
Homeowners can stop electrical fires before they start by following a couple of basic guidelines for appliance safety. Be sure not to plug in too many electrical devices into a single electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there is clutter like paper or clothes nearby the outlet.
It can be easy to forget about the apparent dangers of large home appliances because they are plugged in all of the time, but they still present as much of a fire hazard as small devices like toasters and heaters. Larger appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher should not be left running overnight or any time you’re not at home, and do not keep a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent overworking their cooling systems.
Examine all of the outlets on a regular basis for excessive heat, burn marks, and buzzing or crackling noises that could indicate electrical arcing. Make sure you have at least one smoke detector on every floor of your house, and test them often to keep them in working condition.
If there is an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it might be tempting to douse the fire with water, but water shouldn’t be used on an electrical appliance fire.
Water can conduct electricity, and throwing water on or near a power source might cause a dangerous electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water might conduct electricity to additional parts of the room, running the risk of igniting other flammable items in the area.
The immediate thing you want to do is to unplug the electric appliance from the power source and call the local fire department. Even if you are able to extinguish the fire by yourself, it’s important to have backup if the fire does get out of hand.
For small fires, you could be able to use baking soda to douse the fire. Covering the fuming or burning spot with a layer of baking soda can block oxygen flow to the flames with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda also includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the same chemical used in standard fire extinguishers. You might be able to extinguish a small fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only if the flames are small enough not to catch the heavy blanket on fire too.
For larger electrical appliance fires, use 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 inspected regularly to be sure they are not expired. If there is a working extinguisher on hand, just release the pin near the top, aim the nozzle at the source of the fire, and press the handle. If the flames get too big to fight by yourself or you think the fire could block an exit, leave the house right away, close the door behind you, and then wait for help from the fire department.
For the smaller appliance fires, call Albany Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we will diagnose the reason for the fire and repair the appliance and restore it to its original condition.
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