Emergency Appliance Repair

A typical appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the appliance.

If an appliance emergency arises, unplug the appliance immediately and then call Cherry Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in CITY. If there’s an electrical fire involving one of the appliances inside of your home, we recommend calling the city fire department even before attempting to put out the fire on your own.

An electrical fire is 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 is very important to not panic. Follow these simple guidelines to keep your home safe from electrical fires.

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

You can stop electrical fires from ever starting by following some basic guidelines for appliance safety. Be careful not to plug in more than two electrical devices into a single electrical outlet—the wiring can get overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there’s debris like paper or clothes nearby the outlet.

It can be easy to forget about the dangers of large household appliances because they remain plugged in all the time, but they present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller electrical devices like kitchen toasters and heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine shouldn’t be left running overnight or while you’re away from home, and try not to place a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, to prevent overworking their cooling systems inside.

Check all outlets regularly for extreme heat, burn marks, and crackling or buzzing noises that could point to electrical arcing. Be sure you keep at least one working smoke detector on every story of your house, and test them often to keep them in working order.

WHAT TO NOT DO

If there’s an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it can be tempting to put out the fire with water, but water shouldn’t be used to douse an electrical appliance fire.

Water can conduct electricity, and pouring water on or near a power source can give a severe electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water might conduct electricity to other areas of the room, increasing the risk of igniting other flammable items in the room.

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate thing you need to do is to unplug the electric appliance from the power outlet and call the local fire department. Even if you are able to put out the fire yourself, it is a good idea to have backup if the flames do get out of hand.

For little fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to extinguish the fire. Covering the smoldering or burning spot with a layer of baking soda can prohibit oxygen flow to the flames with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical in standard fire extinguishers. You also might be able to put out a small fire using a heavy blanket, but only if 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 always make sure you own at least one Type C or multi-use extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers should also be checked regularly to ensure they haven’t expired. If you have a operational extinguisher on hand, release the pin near the top, point the hose at the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too big to put out by yourself or you are concerned the fire could block an exit, you should leave the home right away, close the door , and then wait for assistance from the fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Cherry 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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Appliance Safety
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