An appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the home appliance.
In the event of an appliance emergency in your home, unplug the appliance right away and call Orem Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Orem. If there’s an electrical fire from one of the appliances inside your house, we recommend calling the town fire department even before you attempt to put out the fire by yourself.
An electrical fire can be very scary and very dangerous, but there are a few ways to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If an appliance goes up in flames, it’s important to not panic and remain calm. Follow these simple guidelines below to help keep your house safe from electrical appliance fires.
You can prevent electrical fires before they start by following some simple rules of appliance safety in a home. Be sure not to plug a lot of electrical devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there is clutter like clothes or paper nearby the outlet.
It can be easy to forget about the 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 appliances like toasters and heaters. Large appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher should not be left to run overnight or while you’re away from home, and do not keep a freezer or refrigerator in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent overworking their cooling systems.
Inspect all outlets regularly for excessive heat, burns, and crackling or buzzing sounds that could point to electrical arcing. Be sure you keep at least one working smoke detector on each story of your home, and test them quarterly to keep them in good working condition.
If there’s an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it might be tempting to put out the flames with water, however water shouldn’t be used to fight an electrical fire.
Water will conduct electricity, and throwing water on a power source could cause a severe electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water could conduct electricity to other locations of the room, running the risk of igniting other flammable items in the room.
The immediate thing you want to do is to unplug the device from the power source and call your fire department. Even if you might be able to put out the fire on your own, it is important to have backup if the flames do get out of control.
For little fires, you may be able to pour on baking soda to smother the flames. Covering the smoking or burning spot with some baking soda will sometimes prevent oxygen flow to the fire with very little risk of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance used in regulation fire extinguishers. You also may be able to extinguish a small fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only if the flames are 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 own at least one Type C or multi-use fire extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be inspected consistently to be sure they aren’t expired. If you have a working extinguisher in the home, pull the pin at the top, aim the nozzle at the source of the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to put out alone or you are concerned the fire could block an exit, you should leave the home immediately, close the door , and then wait for assistance from the fire department.
For the smaller appliance fires, call Orem Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we can identify the reason for the fire and repair the appliance and return it to working order.
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