Emergency Appliance Repair

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

If an appliance emergency arises in your house, unplug the appliance immediately and call ASAP Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Greenwood. If there’s an electrical fire involving one of the large or small appliances inside your home, we recommend calling the local fire department even before you try to extinguish the fire by yourself.

An electrical fire from an appliance is scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a few ways to be prepared in case of an emergency. If an appliance is in flames, it is very important to not panic and to remain calm. Follow these simple guidelines below to help keep your home safe from electrical fires.

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners can stop electrical fires before they start by following some basic guidelines for appliance safety. Be sure not to plug in too many electrical devices into one outlet—the wiring might become overloaded and then spark a fire, especially if there is debris like paper or clothes nearby the electrical outlet.

Sometimes we forget about the apparent dangers of large household appliances since they stay plugged in all of the time, but they can present as much of a fire hazard as small appliances like kitchen toasters and heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left to run overnight or any time you’re away from home, and don’t place a freezer or refrigerator in direct sunlight, to prevent possibly overworking their cooling systems.

Examine all outlets regularly for excessive heat, signs of burns, and buzzing or crackling sounds that might point to electrical arcing. Be sure you keep at least one smoke detector on every story of your home, and test the smoke detectors quarterly to keep them in working order.

WHAT TO NOT DO

If there’s an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it could be tempting to douse the flames with water, but water should not be used to fight an electrical appliance fire.

Water can conduct electricity, and pouring water on a power source could cause a harmful electrical shock. It might even make the fire worse. Water could conduct electricity to additional areas of the room, increasing the chance of igniting more flammable items nearby.

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The first thing you need to do is to unplug the electric appliance from the power source and call the fire department. Even if you think you can take care of the fire by yourself, it’s important to have help if the fire does get out of hand.

For small fires, you may be able to use baking soda to extinguish the flames. Covering the smoldering or burning spot with a layer of baking soda can block oxygen flow to the flames with little chance of electrocution. Baking soda includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical used in regulation fire extinguishers. You might be able to put out a smaller fire with a heavy blanket, but only when the flames are small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire as well.

For big electrical fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should make sure you have at least one Type C or multi-use fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers need to be inspected often to make sure they haven’t expired. If you have a operational fire extinguisher on hand, release the pin at the top, point the nozzle at the source of the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too big to fight alone or you think the fire could block an exit, leave the house immediately, close the door , and then wait for help from the fire department.

For the small appliance fires, call ASAP Appliance Repair once the fire is extinguished and we will diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to its original condition.

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