An appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even a fire coming from the appliance.
If an appliance emergency happens, unplug the appliance right away and call Choice Covington Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Covington. If there’s an electrical fire happening with one of the large or small appliances inside your house, we advise calling the town fire department before attempting to put out the fire by yourself.
An electrical fire can be very 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 goes up in flames, it’s important not to panic and remain calm. Follow these easy guidelines below to keep your home safe from electrical fires.
You can stop electrical fires from ever starting by following a few simple rules of appliance safety in a home. Be sure not to plug a lot of electrical devices into a single electrical outlet—the wiring can become overloaded and spark a fire, especially when there is clutter like clothes or paper nearby the electrical outlet.
Sometimes we forget about the dangers of large home appliances because they stay plugged in all the time, but they can present as much of a fire hazard as small appliances like kitchen toasters and heaters. Larger appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher shouldn’t be left running overnight or any time you are not at home, and do not place a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent possibly overworking their cooling systems.
Inspect all of the outlets on a regular basis for excessive heat, burns, and crackling or buzzing noises that could indicate electrical arcing. Be sure you keep at least one smoke detector on every floor of your house, and test them regularly to keep them in good working condition.
If there is an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it could be tempting to douse the fire with water, but water shouldn’t be used to fight an electrical appliance fire.
Water conducts electricity, and dumping water on a power source can cause a severe electrical shock. It could even make the fire worse. Water can conduct electricity to other parts of the room, running the chance of igniting other flammable items nearby.
The immediate thing you want to do is to unplug the electric appliance from the power source and call your local fire department. Even if you think you can handle the fire on your own, it’s a good idea to have backup if the fire does get out of hand.
For minor fires, you may be able to use baking soda to douse the fire. Covering the smoldering or burning area with some baking soda can prohibit oxygen flow to the flames with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda also includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance used in standard fire extinguishers. You also could be able to put out a smaller fire using a heavy blanket, but only if the flames are small enough not to catch the heavy blanket on fire.
For large electrical fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you have at least one Type C fire extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be checked consistently to ensure they have not expired. If you have a working fire extinguisher in the home, release the pin at the top, point the nozzle at the flames, and press the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to fight alone or you think the fire might block an exit, leave the house right away, close the door , and wait for assistance from the local fire department.
For the smaller appliance fires, call Choice Covington Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we will diagnose the reason for the fire and repair the appliance and return it to its original condition.
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