Emergency Appliance Repair

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 house, unplug the appliance immediately and then call Astra Appliance Repair for local appliance repair. If there is an electrical fire from one of the large or small appliances inside of your house, we advise calling the local fire department before you attempt to eliminate the fire on your own.

An electrical fire from an appliance is scary and very dangerous, but there are a couple of steps to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If one of your appliances goes up in flames, it’s important to not panic. Follow these simple guidelines below to help keep your home safe from electrical appliance fires.

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

You can stop electrical fires from starting by following a few basic guidelines for appliance safety in a home. Be sure not to plug in more than two electrical devices into one electrical 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 is possible to forget about the apparent dangers of large appliances since they remain plugged in all the time, but they present as much of a fire hazard as smaller appliances like toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left to run overnight or while you’re away from home, and do not place a freezer or refrigerator in direct sunlight, in order to prevent overworking the cooling systems.

Examine all of the outlets regularly for extreme heat, burns, and crackling or buzzing noises that could indicate electrical arcing. Be sure you have at least one smoke detector on every floor of your home, and test the smoke detectors quarterly to keep them in working order.

WHAT TO NOT DO

If there’s an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it might be tempting to put out the fire with water, however water shouldn’t be used to fight an electrical appliance fire.

Water conducts electricity, and throwing water on or near a power source could give a harmful electrical shock. It could even make the fire even worse. Water can conduct the electricity to other locations of the room, running the risk of igniting more flammable objects nearby.

HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate thing you should do is unplug the appliance from the power outlet and call your fire department. Even if you can extinguish the fire on your own, it’s important to have backup if the flames do get out of control.

For smaller fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to douse the flames. Covering the smoking or burning area with a layer of baking soda can prohibit oxygen flow to the fire with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same chemical in regulation fire extinguishers. You might be able to smother a small fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only if the flames are small enough not to catch the heavy blanket on fire.

For large electrical appliance fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you have at least one Type C or multi-use fire extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be inspected often to be sure they have not expired. If there’s a operational extinguisher in the home, pull the pin at the top, aim the nozzle at the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too big to put out by yourself or you think the fire might block an exit, leave the house as fast as possible, shut the door behind you, and wait for assistance from the fire department.

For the small appliance fires, call Astra Appliance Repair once the fire is 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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Appliance Repair Cost
Appliance Repair Tips
Appliance Safety
Repair or Replace Appliances
Refrigerator Parts