An appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the appliance.
If an appliance emergency occurs in your house, unplug the appliance immediately and then call Mason Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Fort Lee. If there’s an electrical fire involving one of the appliances inside your home, we recommend calling the town fire department before you try to eliminate the fire on your own.
An electrical fire from an appliance is scary and very dangerous, but there are a couple of ways to be prepared in case of an emergency. If an electrical appliance is in flames, it’s important to not panic. Follow these simple guidelines to keep your home safe from electrical appliance fires.
Homeowners can stop electrical fires before they start by following a few simple rules of appliance safety in a home. Be careful not to plug in a lot of electrical devices into one outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there is debris like paper or clothes near the electrical outlet.
It is possible to forget about the dangers of larger appliances since they remain plugged in all of the time, but they present as much of a fire hazard as small electrical devices like toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine shouldn’t be left running overnight or while you’re away from home, and don’t keep a freezer or refrigerator in line of direct sunlight, to prevent overworking their cooling systems inside.
Check all outlets regularly for excessive heat, signs of burns, and crackling or buzzing noises that might point to electrical arcing. Make sure you store at least one working smoke detector on each floor of your house, and test them quarterly to keep them in good working condition.
If there is an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it can be tempting to put out the fire with water, but water should never be used to fight an electrical appliance fire.
Water will conduct electricity, and pouring water on a power source can give a severe electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water can conduct electricity to other parts of the room, running the risk of igniting more flammable items nearby.
The immediate thing you want to do is to unplug the device from the power source and call the local fire department. Even if you might be able to extinguish the fire on your own, it’s a good idea to have backup if the flames do get out of control.
For smaller fires, you might be able to use baking soda to extinguish the flames. Covering the fuming or burning spot with a layer of baking soda will sometimes prevent oxygen flow to the fire with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance used in regulation fire extinguishers. You also might be able to smother a small fire using a heavy blanket, but only when the flames are small enough not to catch the blanket on fire as well.
For big electrical fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should be sure you own at least one Type C or multi-use fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers should also be checked consistently to be sure they are not expired. If there is a working extinguisher in the home, just release the pin at the top, aim the hose at the source of the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the flames get too big to put out by yourself or you think the fire may block an exit, leave the house immediately, shut the door behind you, and wait for help from the local fire department.
For the smaller appliance fires, call Mason Appliance Repair once the fire is under control and we can identify the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to working order.
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