A typical appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the appliance.
In the event of an appliance emergency in your home, unplug the appliance right away and call P&G Baltimore Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Baltimore. If there is an electrical fire happening with one of the large or small appliances inside your home, we advise calling the fire department before you attempt to put out the fire yourself.
An electrical fire can be 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’s very important not to panic. Follow our simple guidelines to keep your house safe from electrical fires.
Homeowners can prevent electrical fires from starting by following some simple guidelines for appliance safety in a home. Don’t plug more than two devices into a single electrical outlet—the wiring can get overloaded and then spark a fire, especially when there’s debris like paper or clothes nearby the outlet.
It can be easy to forget about the dangers of large appliances because they remain plugged in all the time, but they still present as much chance for a fire hazard as small electrical devices like kitchen toasters and heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine shouldn’t be left to run overnight or while you’re not at home, and do not place a freezer or refrigerator in direct sunlight, to prevent overworking the cooling systems inside.
Check all of the outlets regularly for excessive heat, burn marks, and crackling or buzzing noises that might point to electrical arcing. Be sure you keep at least one working smoke detector on each floor of your house, and test them quarterly to keep them in working order.
If there’s an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it might be tempting to douse the flames with water, but water should not be used to put out an electrical fire.
Water will conduct electricity, and dumping water on a power source can cause a severe electrical shock. It could even make the fire even worse. Water could conduct the electricity to other areas of the room, running the chance of igniting other flammable items nearby.
The first thing you need to do is unplug the electric device from the power outlet and call the fire department. Even if you can extinguish the fire on your own, it is important to have help if the flames do get out of hand.
For small fires, you might be able to use baking soda to smother the fire. Covering the fuming or burning spot with a layer of baking soda can prohibit oxygen flow to the fire with little risk of electrocution. Baking soda also includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical used in standard fire extinguishers. You also may be able to smother a smaller 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 large electrical fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always make sure you own at least one Type C or multi-use extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be inspected consistently to make sure they aren’t expired. If there’s a working extinguisher in the home, release the pin near the top, aim the hose at the source of the fire, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to fight alone or you think the fire might block an exit, you should leave the home right away, shut the door behind you, and then wait for help from the fire department.
For the smaller appliance fires, call P&G Baltimore Appliance Repair once the fire is extinguished and we can identify the reason for the fire and repair the appliance and restore it to its original condition.
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