An appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the appliance.
In the event of an appliance emergency in your house, unplug the appliance immediately and call Houston Appliance Repair NOW for local appliance repair in Houston. If there is an electrical fire resulting from one of the appliances inside your home, we suggest calling the city fire department even before you attempt to extinguish 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 is in flames, it’s important not to panic. Follow these simple guidelines below to help keep your home safe from electrical fires.
PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES
You are able to stop electrical fires from ever starting by following a couple of basic guidelines for appliance safety in a home. Be careful not to plug in too many devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there’s clutter like clothes or paper close to the outlet.
It can be easy to forget about the apparent dangers of larger residential appliances since they are plugged in all the time, but they still present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller electrical devices like toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine shouldn’t be left running overnight or while you are away from home, and don’t place a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent overworking the cooling systems.
Check all of the outlets regularly for extreme heat, burn marks, and crackling or buzzing noises that could point to electrical arcing. Be sure you keep at least one smoke detector on every floor of your house, and test the smoke detectors regularly to keep them in good working order.
WHAT NOT TO DO
If there is an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it can be tempting to douse the fire with water, but water should not be used to fight an electrical appliance fire.
Water will conduct electricity, and throwing water on a power source might give a harmful electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water might conduct the electricity to other areas of the room, increasing the risk of igniting other flammable objects in the room.
HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE
The first thing you should do is to unplug the electric appliance from the power outlet 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 help if the fire does get out of hand.
For minor fires, you might be able to use baking soda to douse the fire. Covering the fuming or burning area with a layer of baking soda can prohibit oxygen flow to the fire with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the same chemical used in regulation fire extinguishers. You also could be able to put out a small fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only if the flames are small enough not to catch the blanket on fire as well.
For larger 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 inspected regularly to make sure they aren’t expired. If you have a working extinguisher on hand, release the pin near the top, aim the hose at the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the flames get too dangerous to put out by yourself or you are concerned the fire may block an exit, leave the house as fast as possible, shut the door behind you, and wait for help from the local fire department.
For the small appliance fires, call Houston Appliance Repair NOW once the flames are under control and we can identify the reason for the fire and repair the appliance and restore it to its original condition.
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