Emergency Appliance Repair

A typical appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even a fire coming from the home appliance.

If an appliance emergency occurs in your house, unplug the appliance right away and call Lane Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in CITY. If there’s an electrical fire happening with one of the appliances in your home, we recommend calling the city fire department even before attempting to eliminate the fire on your own.

An electrical fire is very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a few steps to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If one of your appliances is in flames, it’s very important not to panic and to remain calm. Follow our easy guidelines below to help keep your house safe from electrical appliance fires.

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners can stop electrical fires from ever starting by following a few simple rules of appliance safety. Be careful not to plug a lot of devices into a single electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there is clutter like paper or clothes close to the outlet.

Sometimes we forget about the dangers of large appliances because they stay plugged in all the time, but they still present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller devices like toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left to run overnight or while you are not at home, and don’t place a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent overworking their cooling systems.

Check all of the outlets regularly for excessive heat, burns, and buzzing or crackling noises that might indicate electrical arcing. Be sure you keep at least one smoke detector on each floor of your home, and test them regularly to keep them in good working order.

WHAT NOT TO DO

If there is an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it could be tempting to douse the flames with water, but water should never be used to put out an electrical fire.

Water will conduct electricity, and dumping water on a power source could give a severe electrical shock. It could even make the fire worse. Water can conduct electricity to other parts of the room, increasing the chance of igniting more flammable objects nearby.

HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The first step you need to do is unplug the electric appliance from the power outlet and call your local fire department. Even if you can extinguish the fire yourself, it is important to have backup if the fire does get out of control.

For minor fires, you could be able to use baking soda to extinguish the fire. Covering the smoldering or burning area with some baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the fire with very little risk of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the substance in regulation fire extinguishers. You could be able to smother a small fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only if the flames are small enough not to catch the heavy blanket on fire.

For big electrical fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you have at least one Type C or multi-use extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers should also be checked often to ensure they aren’t expired. If there’s a operational fire extinguisher in the home, just pull the pin at the top, aim the hose at the flames, and press the handle. If the flames get too dangerous to put out by yourself or you are concerned the fire may block an exit, leave the home as fast as possible, close the door behind you, and then wait for assistance from the local fire department.

For the small appliance fires, call Lane Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we can diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the appliance and restore it to working order.

OTHER RESOURCES:

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