Emergency Appliance Repair

An appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the appliance.

If an appliance emergency occurs, unplug the appliance immediately and then call Dunn Appliance Repair for local appliance repair. If there’s an electrical fire resulting from one of the large or small appliances in your house, we suggest calling the fire department before attempting to eliminate 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 electrical appliance is in flames, it is very important to not panic. Follow these simple guidelines to help keep your house safe from electrical appliance fires.

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners are able to prevent electrical fires before they start by following a couple of basic guidelines for appliance safety. Don’t plug more than two electrical devices into a single outlet—the wiring can become overloaded and then spark a fire, especially when there’s debris like clothes or paper close to the outlet.

It is possible to forget about the dangers of large appliances because they stay plugged in all the time, but they still present as much of a fire hazard as smaller appliances like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine 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 regularly for excessive heat, burns, and buzzing or crackling noises that could point to electrical arcing. Be sure you keep at least one working smoke detector on every floor of your home, and test them regularly to keep them in good working condition.

WHAT NOT TO DO

If there’s an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it can be tempting to put out the fire with water, however water shouldn’t be used to put out an electrical fire.

Water can conduct electricity, and dumping water on a power source might cause a harmful electrical shock. It might even make the fire worse. Water can conduct electricity to additional parts 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 to unplug the electric appliance from the power outlet and call your fire department. Even if you think you can handle the fire on your own, it’s important to have backup if the flames do get out of hand.

For little fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to douse the flames. Covering the smoking or burning area with a layer of baking soda will sometimes prevent oxygen flow to the flames with little chance of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical used in standard fire extinguishers. You might be able to put out a smaller fire using a heavy blanket, but only when the flames are small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire too.

For large electrical appliance fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always make sure you own at least one Type C or multi-use fire extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be checked often to make sure they aren’t expired. If you have a working fire extinguisher in the home, pull the pin near the top, point the nozzle at the source of the flames, and press the handle. If the flames get too dangerous to put out alone or you are concerned the fire may block an exit, you should leave the home right away, shut the door , and wait for assistance from the local fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Dunn Appliance Repair once the fire is under control and we will diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to working order.

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Appliance Repair Cost
Appliance Repair Tips
Appliance Safety
Repair or Replace Appliances
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