Emergency Appliance Repair

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

If an appliance emergency occurs in your house, unplug the appliance right away and then call A&L Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Escondido. If there’s an electrical fire resulting from one of the appliances in your house, we suggest calling the fire department even before you attempt to eliminate the fire yourself.

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

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

You can stop electrical fires before they start by following a couple of basic guidelines for appliance safety in a home. Don’t plug in too many devices into a single electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and then spark a fire, especially when there is clutter like clothes or paper near the outlet.

It can be easy to forget about the apparent dangers of larger home appliances because they remain plugged in all the time, but they present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller appliances like toasters and space 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 do not place a freezer or refrigerator in line of direct sunlight, to prevent overworking their cooling systems inside.

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

WHAT NOT TO DO

If there’s an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it might be tempting to douse the fire with water, but water shouldn’t be used to douse an electrical fire.

Water conducts electricity, and dumping water on a power source could cause a dangerous electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water can conduct the electricity to additional areas of the room, increasing the chance of igniting other flammable objects in the room.

HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate thing you want to do is unplug the device from the power outlet and call your local fire department. Even if you think you might be able to extinguish the fire by yourself, it’s important to have help if the fire does get out of control.

For little fires, you may be able to use baking soda to extinguish the flames. Covering the smoking or burning area with some baking soda will sometimes prohibit oxygen flow to the flames with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical in regulation fire extinguishers. You might be able to extinguish a smaller fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only if the fire is small enough to not catch the blanket on fire.

For larger electrical appliance fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should be sure you have at least one Type C extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers should also be checked regularly to ensure they aren’t expired. If there is a operational extinguisher in the home, just pull the pin at the top, aim the hose at the source of the fire, and squeeze the handle. If the flames get too dangerous to put out alone or you are concerned the fire could block an exit, leave the home as fast as possible, shut the door behind you, and then wait for assistance from the fire department.

For the small appliance fires, call A&L Appliance Repair once the fire is extinguished and we can diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and restore it to its original condition.

OTHER RESOURCES:

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