An appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the appliance.
If an appliance emergency happens, unplug the appliance immediately and call Martin Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Spokane. If there is an electrical fire involving one of the large or small appliances inside of your home, we suggest calling the town fire department before you try to extinguish the fire yourself.
An electrical fire is very scary and very dangerous, but there are a couple of steps to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If an electrical appliance is in flames, it’s very important to not panic. Follow these easy guidelines below to help keep your house safe from electrical appliance fires.
You can prevent electrical fires before they start by following some basic rules of appliance safety in a home. Don’t plug more than two electrical devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially when there is debris like paper or clothes near the outlet.
It can be easy to forget about the dangers of large residential appliances since they stay plugged in all the time, but they present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller devices like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left running overnight or any time you’re away from home, and do not place a freezer or refrigerator in line of direct sunlight, to prevent overworking the cooling systems.
Inspect all of the outlets regularly for excessive heat, burn marks, and buzzing or crackling noises that might 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 order.
If there is an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it can be tempting to put out the flames with water, but water should not be used to douse an electrical fire.
Water conducts electricity, and dumping water on or near a power source can give a harmful electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water might conduct the electricity to additional areas of the room, running the chance of igniting more flammable items in the area.
The immediate step you need to do is to unplug the device from the power source and call your local fire department. Even if you can put out the fire by yourself, it is important to have help if the fire does get out of control.
For smaller fires, you could be able to use baking soda to smother the flames. Covering the fuming or burning area with baking soda can block oxygen flow to the flames with little risk of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance used in regulation fire extinguishers. You could be able to extinguish a small fire with a heavy blanket, but only when the flames are small enough to not catch the blanket on fire.
For big electrical fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you own at least one Type C or multi-use extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers should also be inspected often to ensure they are not expired. If there is a operational fire extinguisher in the home, pull the pin near the top, point the hose at the source of the fire, and squeeze the handle. If the flames get too dangerous to put out alone or you think the fire could block an exit, you should leave the home right away, close the door behind you, and then wait for help from the fire department.
For the smaller appliance fires, call Martin Appliance Repair once the fire is extinguished and we will diagnose the reason for the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to working order.
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