Emergency Appliance Repair

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 Foster Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Knoxville. If there is an electrical fire happening with one of the large or small appliances inside your home, we recommend calling the city fire department before attempting to eliminate the fire on your own.

An electrical fire from an appliance can be very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a few ways to be prepared in case of an emergency. If an appliance is in flames, it is very important to not panic. Follow these easy guidelines below to help keep your house safe from electrical appliance fires.

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

You can prevent electrical fires before they start by following a few simple rules of appliance safety in a home. Don’t plug a lot of electrical devices into a single electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there’s debris like clothes or paper near the electrical outlet.

It can be easy to forget about the dangers of larger appliances because they stay plugged in all the time, but they still present as much of a fire hazard as small devices like toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left running 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.

Check all of the outlets regularly for excessive heat, signs of burns, and crackling or buzzing sounds that could point to electrical arcing. Be sure you have at least one working smoke detector on every floor of your home, and test the smoke detectors often to keep them in good working order.

WHAT TO NOT DO

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

Water can conduct electricity, and throwing water on a power source can cause a dangerous electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water might conduct the electricity to other locations of the room, running 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 device from the power outlet and call the local fire department. Even if you think you are able to take care of the fire yourself, it’s important to have help if the fire does get out of hand.

For smaller fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to douse the fire. Covering the fuming or burning spot with a layer of baking soda will sometimes prevent oxygen flow to the flames with very little risk of electrocution. Baking soda also includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the chemical used in standard fire extinguishers. You also might be able to smother a small fire with a heavy blanket, but only if the flames are small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire as well.

For big electrical fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should be sure you own at least one Type C or multi-use extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers should also be inspected regularly to ensure they have not expired. If there is a working extinguisher in the home, release the pin near the top, aim the nozzle at the source of the flames, and press the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to put out alone or you think the fire could block an exit, you should leave the house immediately, shut the door , and wait for help from the fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Foster Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we can diagnose the reason for the fire and repair the appliance and restore it to working order.

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