A typical appliance repair emergency could 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 immediately and call L&C Virginia Beach Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Virginia Beach. If there is an electrical fire resulting from one of the appliances inside of your home, we advise calling the city fire department before attempting to eliminate the fire on your own.
An electrical fire is scary and very dangerous, but there are a few steps to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If one of your appliances is in flames, it is important not to panic and to remain calm. Follow our simple guidelines to keep your home safe from electrical appliance fires.
You are able to prevent electrical fires from ever starting by following a couple of simple rules of appliance safety in a home. Don’t plug in too many electrical devices into one outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and then spark a fire, especially if there’s clutter like paper or clothes close to the electrical outlet.
It can be easy to forget about the dangers of large household appliances since they are plugged in all of the time, but they can present as much chance for a fire hazard as small appliances like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher should not be left to run overnight or while you are not at home, and don’t keep a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent possibly overworking their cooling systems.
Examine all of the outlets on a regular basis for extreme heat, signs of burns, and crackling or buzzing sounds that could point to electrical arcing. Be sure you have at least one smoke detector on each floor of your home, and test the smoke detectors regularly to keep them in working order.
If there is an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it might be tempting to douse the fire with water, but water shouldn’t be used to put out an electrical appliance fire.
Water conducts electricity, and throwing water on a power source could give a severe electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water can conduct the electricity to additional locations of the room, increasing the risk of igniting more flammable items nearby.
The first thing you should do is unplug the appliance from the power outlet and call your fire department. Even if you think you might be able to handle the fire yourself, it’s a good idea to have backup if the flames do get out of control.
For smaller fires, you may be able to pour on baking soda to extinguish the fire. Covering the smoking or burning area with baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the flames with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical in regulation fire extinguishers. You may be able to extinguish a smaller fire with a heavy blanket, but only if the fire is small enough to not catch the blanket on fire as well.
For larger electrical appliance fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should be sure you own at least one Type C extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be checked regularly to ensure they have not expired. If there’s a working fire extinguisher on hand, just pull the pin at the top, aim the nozzle at the source of the flames, and press the handle. If the flames get too dangerous to put out by yourself or you are concerned the fire could block an exit, leave the home as fast as possible, shut the door behind you, and wait for assistance from the fire department.
For the small appliance fires, call L&C Virginia Beach Appliance Repair once the fire is extinguished and we can diagnose the reason for the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to its original condition.
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