Emergency Appliance Repair

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

If an appliance emergency occurs, unplug the appliance right away and call Jet City Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Seattle. If there’s an electrical fire involving one of the large or small appliances inside of your house, we suggest calling the town fire department even before attempting to eliminate the fire yourself.

An electrical fire can be very scary and very dangerous, but there are a few steps to be prepared in case of an emergency. If an electrical appliance is in flames, it’s important not to panic and to remain calm. Follow these simple guidelines below to keep your home safe from electrical appliance fires.

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

You are able to stop electrical fires from starting by following a few basic guidelines for appliance safety. Be careful not to plug too many devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and then spark a fire, especially if there is debris like paper or clothes close to the electrical outlet.

It can be easy to forget about the apparent dangers of large appliances because they are plugged in all of the time, but they can present as much of a fire hazard as smaller electrical appliances like kitchen toasters and heaters. Large appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher should not be left to run overnight or any time you are not at home, and try not to keep a refrigerator or freezer in direct sunlight, in order to prevent possibly overworking their cooling systems.

Inspect all of the outlets on a regular basis for extreme heat, signs of burns, and buzzing or crackling noises that could indicate electrical arcing. Make sure you store at least one smoke detector on each floor of your home, and test the smoke detectors regularly to keep them in working condition.

WHAT NOT TO DO

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

Water conducts electricity, and dumping water on a power source might cause a harmful electrical shock. It might even make the fire even worse. Water might conduct electricity to additional locations of the room, increasing the risk of igniting more flammable items in the room.

HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The first step you need to do is to unplug the device from the power outlet and call your fire department. Even if you think you can extinguish the fire by yourself, it’s important to have help if the flames do get out of control.

For minor fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to extinguish the fire. Covering the smoking or burning spot with some baking soda can prevent oxygen flow to the fire with little chance of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance in regulation fire extinguishers. You also may be able to put out a small fire using a heavy blanket, but only when the flames are small enough not to catch the heavy blanket on fire as well.

For big electrical fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should be sure you own at least one Type C or multi-use extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers should also be checked regularly to ensure they haven’t expired. If there’s a operational fire extinguisher on hand, pull the pin at the top, point the hose at the source of the fire, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too big to fight alone or you think the fire may block an exit, leave the home right away, close the door , and wait for help from the local fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Jet City Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we can diagnose the reason for the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to working order.

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