An appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even a fire coming from the appliance.
In the event of an appliance emergency in your home, unplug the appliance right away and call Council Bluffs Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Council Bluffs. If there’s an electrical fire from one of the large or small appliances inside of your home, we suggest calling the fire department even before you attempt to put out the fire by yourself.
An electrical fire is scary and very dangerous, but there are a couple of ways to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If one of your appliances goes up in flames, it is very important to not panic and to remain calm. Follow our easy guidelines to help keep your house safe from electrical fires.
Homeowners can stop electrical fires before they start by following a couple of basic rules of appliance safety in a home. Be careful not to plug in more than two electrical devices into one outlet—the wiring might become overloaded and then spark a fire, especially when there is clutter like clothes or paper near the outlet.
It is possible to forget about the apparent dangers of large household appliances because they are plugged in all the time, but they can present as much of a fire hazard as smaller devices like toasters and heaters. Large appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher shouldn’t be left running overnight or any time you’re away from home, and don’t place a freezer or refrigerator in direct sunlight, to prevent overworking the cooling systems inside.
Inspect all of the outlets regularly for extreme heat, burns, and crackling or buzzing sounds that might indicate electrical arcing. Be sure you store at least one smoke detector on each story of your house, and test them regularly to keep them in good working condition.
If there’s an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it might be tempting to put out the flames with water, however water shouldn’t be used to fight an electrical appliance fire.
Water can conduct electricity, and dumping water on a power source can cause a severe electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water might conduct the electricity to additional locations of the room, increasing the chance of igniting more flammable objects nearby.
The immediate step you should do is to unplug the device from the power source and call the local fire department. Even if you are able to take care of the fire by yourself, it is important to have help if the flames do get out of control.
For little fires, you may be able to pour on baking soda to douse the fire. Covering the smoldering or burning spot with some baking soda can prohibit oxygen flow to the flames with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda also includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance in standard fire extinguishers. You also might be able to put out a smaller fire with a heavy blanket, but only when the fire is small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire too.
For large electrical fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should make sure you own at least one Type C or multi-use extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be inspected regularly to be sure they are not expired. If there is a operational fire extinguisher in the home, pull the pin at the top, aim the hose at the fire, and press the handle. If the flames get too big to fight by yourself or you think the fire may block an exit, you should leave the home right away, shut the door behind you, and then wait for assistance from the local fire department.
For the small appliance fires, call Council Bluffs Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we will diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and restore it to its original condition.
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