Emergency Appliance Repair

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

If an appliance emergency happens in your house, unplug the appliance immediately and call Ericson Appliance Repair for local appliance repair. If there’s an electrical fire resulting from one of the appliances in your house, we advise calling the fire department before attempting to eliminate the fire on your own.

An electrical fire from an appliance is scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a few ways to be prepared in case of an emergency. If an appliance is in flames, it is important not to panic and to remain calm. Follow our simple guidelines below to keep your house safe from electrical fires.

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

You are able to prevent electrical fires before they start by following a few basic guidelines for appliance safety in a home. Do not plug in a lot of electrical devices into a single outlet—the wiring might become overloaded and then spark a fire, especially if there’s clutter like paper or clothes near the outlet.

It can be easy to forget about the apparent dangers of large appliances since they stay plugged in all of the time, but they present as much of a fire hazard as small devices like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left running overnight or any time you are not at home, and don’t place a freezer or refrigerator in direct sunlight, in order to prevent overworking their cooling systems.

Inspect all of the outlets on a regular basis for extreme heat, burns, and crackling or buzzing noises that might indicate electrical arcing. Be sure you have at least one smoke detector on every floor of your house, and test the smoke detectors quarterly to keep them in working condition.

WHAT TO NOT DO

If there’s an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it might be tempting to put out the fire with water, but water should not be used on an electrical fire.

Water can conduct electricity, and throwing water on a power source could give a dangerous electrical shock. It could even make the fire even worse. Water could conduct electricity to other parts of the room, running the risk of igniting other flammable items nearby.

HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate step you should do is to unplug the electric appliance from the power outlet and call the fire department. Even if you think you might be able to take care of the fire yourself, it is a good idea to have backup if the flames do get out of hand.

For small fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to extinguish the fire. Covering the smoking or burning area with baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the fire with very little risk of electrocution. Baking soda includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the substance in standard fire extinguishers. You might be able to smother a smaller fire using a heavy blanket, but only if the flames are small enough to not catch the blanket on fire too.

For larger electrical fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always make sure you have at least one Type C fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers should also be checked consistently to be sure they haven’t expired. If there is a working extinguisher on hand, just release the pin near the top, point the nozzle at the source of the flames, and press the handle. If the flames get too dangerous to put out alone or you think the fire may block an exit, leave the home right away, close the door , and then wait for assistance from the local fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Ericson Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we will 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
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