An appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even a fire coming from the appliance.
In the event of an appliance emergency in your house, unplug the appliance right away and call United Lynn Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Lynn. If there’s an electrical fire happening with one of the appliances in your home, we recommend calling the town fire department before attempting to put out the fire on your own.
An electrical fire can be very scary and very dangerous, but there are a couple of steps to be prepared in case of an emergency. If an appliance goes up in flames, it is important to not panic and to remain calm. Follow our easy guidelines below to keep your home safe from electrical fires.
PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES
You are able to prevent electrical fires from starting by following a couple of basic rules of appliance safety. Do not plug in too many electrical devices into a single outlet—the wiring might become overloaded and then spark a fire, especially when there is clutter like clothes or paper near the outlet.
It is possible to forget about the dangers of large appliances since they are plugged in all the time, but they present as much of a fire hazard as small electrical devices like toasters and heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left running overnight or while you are not at home, and do not keep a refrigerator or freezer in direct sunlight, in order to prevent possibly overworking the cooling systems inside.
Examine all of the outlets regularly for extreme heat, signs of burns, and buzzing or crackling sounds that could indicate electrical arcing. Make sure you have at least one smoke detector on each floor of your home, and test the smoke detectors often to keep them in working order.
WHAT NOT TO DO
If there’s an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it might be tempting to put out the flames with water, however water should not be used to douse an electrical appliance fire.
Water conducts electricity, and throwing water on a power source might cause a severe electrical shock. It might even make the fire worse. Water might conduct electricity to other parts of the room, running the chance of igniting more flammable items nearby.
HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE
The first thing you need to do is unplug the appliance from the power source and call your local fire department. Even if you can put out the fire by yourself, it is important to have backup if the flames do get out of hand.
For minor fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to extinguish the flames. Covering the smoldering or burning spot with a layer of baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the flames with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance used in regulation fire extinguishers. You also may be able to extinguish a small fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only if the fire is small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire.
For large electrical appliance fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you have at least one Type C fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers need to be checked consistently to be sure they have not expired. If there’s a working extinguisher on hand, just pull the pin at the top, point the nozzle at the fire, and press the handle. If the flames get too big to fight by yourself or you are concerned the fire may block an exit, you should leave the home immediately, close the door , and wait for help from the local fire department.
For the small appliance fires, call United Lynn Appliance Repair once the flames are extinguished and we can diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the appliance and return it to working order.
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