Emergency Appliance Repair

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

In the event of an appliance emergency in your home, unplug the appliance immediately and call Premiere Appliance Repair for our appliance repair service in Chula Vista California. If there is an electrical fire involving one of the appliances inside your home, we suggest calling the local fire department before attempting to eliminate the fire on your own.

An electrical fire from an appliance can be very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a couple of ways to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If an electrical appliance goes up in flames, it’s very important to not panic and to remain calm. Follow our simple guidelines below to help keep your house safe from electrical appliance fires.

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners can stop electrical fires before they start by following a couple of simple guidelines for appliance safety in a home. Do not plug more than two devices into one outlet—the wiring can get overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there’s clutter like clothes or paper near the outlet.

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

Check all outlets regularly for extreme heat, signs of burns, and buzzing or crackling noises that could indicate electrical arcing. Be sure you keep at least one smoke detector on every story of your home, and test the smoke detectors quarterly to keep them in good working order.

WHAT TO NOT DO

If there is an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it might be tempting to douse the flames with water, however water should not be used to fight an electrical fire.

Water will conduct electricity, and pouring water on a power source might give a severe electrical shock. It might even make the fire worse. Water can conduct the electricity to other parts of the room, increasing the chance of igniting more flammable objects in the area.

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The first step you should do is unplug the electric appliance from the power source and call your fire department. Even if you think you can take care of the fire by yourself, it’s a good idea to have backup if the fire does get out of control.

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

For big electrical fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you have at least one Type C extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be inspected consistently to be sure they are not expired. If you have a working extinguisher on hand, pull the pin at the top, aim the nozzle at the source of the fire, and press the handle. If the fire gets too big to fight by yourself or you think the fire could block an exit, you should leave the home as fast as possible, close the door behind you, and wait for help from the local fire department.

For the small appliance fires, call Premiere Appliance Repair once the fire is under control and we will diagnose the reason for the fire and repair the electrical appliance and restore it to working order.

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