Emergency Appliance Repair

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

If an appliance emergency happens in your home, unplug the appliance immediately and call Rowe Appliance Repair for local appliance repair. If there’s an electrical fire from one of the large or small appliances in your home, we recommend calling the city fire department even before you attempt to extinguish the fire yourself.

An electrical fire from an appliance can be scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a few ways to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If an electrical appliance goes up in flames, it is important not to panic. Follow our simple guidelines below to help keep your home safe from electrical appliance fires.

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners are able to stop electrical fires from ever starting by following a couple of basic guidelines for appliance safety in a home. Be careful not to plug a lot of devices into a single outlet—the wiring can become overloaded and then spark a fire, especially when there is clutter like paper or clothes near the electrical outlet.

Sometimes we forget about the apparent dangers of large appliances since they remain plugged in all the time, but they still present as much of a fire hazard as smaller electrical devices like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine shouldn’t be left to run overnight or any time you’re not at home, and don’t keep a freezer or refrigerator in direct sunlight, in order to prevent possibly overworking their cooling systems.

Examine all outlets on a regular basis for extreme heat, signs of burns, and buzzing or crackling noises that could point to electrical arcing. Be sure you have at least one smoke detector on each floor of your house, and test the smoke detectors often to keep them in good working condition.

WHAT NOT TO DO

If there’s an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it could be tempting to douse the flames with water, but water shouldn’t be used to fight an electrical appliance fire.

Water can conduct electricity, and dumping water on or near a power source might give a dangerous electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water could conduct the electricity to additional locations of the room, running the chance of igniting other flammable items nearby.

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate thing you want to do is to unplug the appliance from the power outlet and call the fire department. Even if you can handle the fire yourself, it’s important to have help if the fire does get out of hand.

For smaller fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to extinguish the flames. Covering the fuming or burning spot with some baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the fire with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same chemical used in regulation fire extinguishers. You might be able to extinguish a small fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only if the fire is small enough not to catch the heavy blanket on fire.

For large electrical fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always make sure you own at least one Type C fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers should also be checked regularly to ensure they are not expired. If there’s a operational fire extinguisher on hand, pull the pin near the top, point the hose at the flames, and press the handle. If the flames get too dangerous to put out alone or you are concerned the fire could block an exit, leave the house as fast as possible, shut the door behind you, and then wait for help from the local fire department.

For the small appliance fires, call Rowe Appliance Repair once the flames are extinguished and we will diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the appliance and restore it to working order.

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