An appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even a fire coming from the home appliance.
In the event of an appliance emergency in your home, unplug the appliance immediately and then call Instant Livonia Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Livonia. If there’s an electrical fire resulting from one of the appliances inside your home, we suggest calling the fire department before attempting to eliminate the fire on your own.
An electrical fire from an appliance can be very scary and very dangerous, but there are a couple of ways to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If an appliance goes up in flames, it’s important not to panic and remain calm. Follow these simple guidelines below to help keep your home safe from electrical appliance fires.
HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES
Homeowners can stop electrical fires from starting by following some simple rules of appliance safety in a home. Be sure not to plug in too many devices into one outlet—the wiring can become overloaded and spark a fire, especially when there is debris like paper or clothes close to the electrical outlet.
It can be easy to forget about the dangers of large residential appliances since they remain plugged in all of the time, but they can present as much of a fire hazard as smaller appliances like toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left running overnight or any time you’re not at home, and try not to keep a freezer or refrigerator in direct sunlight, to prevent possibly overworking their cooling systems.
Check all of the outlets regularly for excessive heat, signs of burns, and buzzing or crackling sounds that might indicate electrical arcing. Make sure you keep at least one working smoke detector on each story 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 douse the fire with water, however water should never be used to douse an electrical appliance fire.
Water will conduct electricity, and pouring water on a power source might give a severe electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water can conduct the electricity to other areas of the room, running the risk of igniting other flammable objects nearby.
HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE
The immediate step you should do is unplug the device from the power source and call your fire department. Even if you think you are able to take care of the fire on your own, it’s important to have backup if the fire does get out of hand.
For small fires, you might be able to use baking soda to douse the flames. Covering the smoldering or burning spot with baking soda will sometimes prevent oxygen flow to the flames with little risk of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the substance used in standard fire extinguishers. You may be able to extinguish a small fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only if the fire is small enough not to catch the blanket on fire too.
For big electrical appliance fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always make sure you have at least one Type C or multi-use extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be checked regularly to make sure they haven’t expired. If you have a operational fire extinguisher in the home, pull the pin at the top, point the nozzle at the source of the fire, and press the handle. If the flames get too big to put out alone or you think the fire may block an exit, leave the home as fast as possible, close the door behind you, and wait for help from the fire department.
For the smaller appliance fires, call Instant Livonia Appliance Repair once the fire is under control and we can identify the cause of the fire and repair the appliance and return it to working order.
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