Emergency Appliance Repair

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

If an appliance emergency happens, unplug the appliance right away and call Tru Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Arizona. If there’s an electrical fire happening with one of the large or small appliances in your house, we suggest calling the town fire department even before you attempt to eliminate the fire yourself.

An electrical fire is very scary and very dangerous, but there are a couple of ways to be prepared in case of an emergency. If one of your appliances is in flames, it’s very important to not panic and remain calm. Follow these simple guidelines to keep your house safe from electrical fires.

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners are able to stop electrical fires from ever starting by following a couple of basic rules of appliance safety in a home. Be careful not to plug in more than two devices into one outlet—the wiring can become overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there’s clutter like clothes or paper nearby the outlet.

Sometimes we forget about the apparent dangers of larger home appliances because they are plugged in all of the time, but they still present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller devices like kitchen toasters and heaters. Larger appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher should not be left to run overnight or while you are not at home, and do not keep a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, to prevent possibly overworking their cooling systems inside.

Inspect all outlets on a regular basis for excessive heat, burn marks, and buzzing or crackling sounds that might point to electrical arcing. Make sure you store at least one working smoke detector on each story of your house, and test them quarterly to keep them in working condition.

WHAT TO NOT DO

If there is an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it could be tempting to put out the flames with water, however water should not be used to douse an electrical appliance fire.

Water conducts electricity, and throwing water on a power source might give a dangerous electrical shock. It could even make the fire worse. Water might conduct electricity to additional locations of the room, increasing the chance of igniting other flammable items in the area.

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The first thing you should do is to unplug the electric appliance from the power outlet and call the fire department. Even if you can take care of the fire on your own, it’s a good idea to have backup if the flames do get out of control.

For minor fires, you may be able to pour on baking soda to extinguish the flames. Covering the fuming or burning area with a layer of baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the fire with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical in regulation fire extinguishers. You also might be able to put out a smaller fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only when the fire is small enough not to catch the blanket on fire.

For big electrical fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should make sure you have at least one Type C or multi-use extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers need to be checked often to ensure they aren’t expired. If you have a working fire extinguisher in the home, just release the pin at the top, aim the nozzle at the fire, and press the handle. If the fire gets too big to put out by yourself or you think the fire might block an exit, leave the home immediately, shut the door behind you, and wait for assistance from the fire department.

For the small appliance fires, call Tru Appliance Repair once the fire is under control and we will diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to its original condition.

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Appliance Safety
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