An appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the home appliance.
If an appliance emergency arises, unplug the appliance right away and call Federal Way Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Federal Way. If there is an electrical fire happening with one of the large or small appliances inside your house, we suggest calling the town fire department even before you attempt to extinguish the fire on your own.
An electrical fire from an appliance is very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a couple of steps to be prepared in case of an emergency. If an electrical appliance goes up in flames, it is important to not panic. Follow our easy guidelines to help keep your house safe from electrical appliance fires.
PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES
Homeowners can prevent electrical fires from starting by following a couple of simple rules of appliance safety in a home. Do not plug in more than two electrical devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring can get overloaded and then spark a fire, especially if there’s debris like paper or clothes close to the electrical outlet.
It’s possible to forget about the apparent dangers of larger residential appliances because they stay plugged in all the time, but they present as much of a fire hazard as small appliances like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher should not be left running overnight or while you are not at home, and try not to keep a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent possibly overworking their cooling systems.
Check all of the outlets on a regular basis for extreme heat, signs of burns, and buzzing or crackling sounds that might indicate electrical arcing. Make sure you keep at least one smoke detector on every floor of your house, and test them often to keep them in working condition.
WHAT TO NOT DO
If there is an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it might be tempting to douse the flames with water, but water should never be used to put out an electrical appliance fire.
Water can conduct electricity, and dumping water on a power source can give a harmful electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water could conduct electricity to other locations of the room, increasing the risk of igniting other flammable items in the area.
HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE
The first thing you want to do is to unplug the electric device from the power source and call your fire department. Even if you think you can take care of the fire by yourself, it is a good idea to have help if the flames do get out of control.
For little fires, you may be able to use baking soda to smother the fire. Covering the smoldering or burning spot with a layer of baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the fire with little risk of electrocution. Baking soda includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical in standard fire extinguishers. You might be able to extinguish a small fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only when the flames are small enough to not catch the blanket on fire as well.
For larger electrical fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you own at least one Type C or multi-use fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers need to be checked often to make sure they aren’t expired. If there’s a operational extinguisher on hand, just pull the pin near the top, point the hose at the source of the flames, and press the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to fight alone or you are concerned the fire might block an exit, leave the house as fast as possible, shut the door behind you, and wait for help from the fire department.
For the smaller appliance fires, call Federal Way Appliance Repair once the flames are 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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