Emergency Appliance Repair

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

If an appliance emergency occurs in your house, unplug the appliance immediately and call Gray Appliance Repair for local appliance repair. If there’s an electrical fire from one of the appliances inside of your house, we advise calling the fire department even before you try to extinguish the fire by yourself.

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

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners can prevent electrical fires from starting by following a few basic guidelines for appliance safety. Don’t plug too many devices into one outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and then spark a fire, especially when there’s debris like paper or clothes near the outlet.

It can be easy to forget about the dangers of large appliances because they remain plugged in all of the time, but they still present as much of a fire hazard as small devices like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher shouldn’t 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 overworking the cooling systems.

Check all outlets on a regular basis for excessive heat, burn marks, and crackling or buzzing sounds that might point to electrical arcing. Make sure you store at least one working smoke detector on each floor of your house, and test them quarterly to keep them in good working condition.

WHAT NOT TO DO

If there is an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it could be tempting to douse the fire with water, but water should never be used to fight an electrical fire.

Water conducts electricity, and throwing water on a power source can give a severe electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water can conduct electricity to other parts of the room, increasing the chance of igniting other flammable items in the area.

HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate step you need to do is unplug the electric device from the power outlet and call the fire department. Even if you think you can put out the fire by yourself, it is important to have help if the flames do get out of hand.

For minor fires, you might be able to pour on baking soda to smother the flames. Covering the smoldering or burning area with some baking soda will sometimes prevent oxygen flow to the flames with little risk of electrocution. Baking soda also includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance in standard fire extinguishers. You also might be able to put out a smaller fire using a heavy blanket, but only if the fire is small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire as well.

For large electrical fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should be sure you own at least one Type C extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers should also be inspected consistently to make sure they have not expired. If you have a working extinguisher in the home, release the pin near the top, point the hose at the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to put out by yourself or you think the fire might block an exit, leave the home immediately, close the door behind you, and then wait for help from the fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Gray Appliance Repair once the flames are extinguished and we can diagnose the reason for the fire and repair the appliance and return it to its original condition.

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