A typical appliance repair emergency could be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the home appliance.
In the event of an appliance emergency, unplug the appliance right away and then call Nashua Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Nashua. If there’s an electrical fire resulting from one of the large or small appliances inside of your house, we recommend calling the fire department before you try to extinguish the fire yourself.
An electrical fire can be very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a couple of steps to be prepared in case of an emergency. If an electrical appliance is in flames, it’s important not to panic and remain calm. Follow these simple guidelines to help keep your home safe from electrical fires.
HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES
You can stop electrical fires from starting by following a couple of basic rules of appliance safety. Be careful not to plug in a lot of devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and then 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 home appliances since they are plugged in all the time, but they present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller devices like toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher shouldn’t be left to run overnight or while you’re away from home, and do not keep a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent overworking their cooling systems inside.
Check all of the outlets on a regular basis for excessive heat, signs of burns, and crackling or buzzing noises that could point to electrical arcing. Be sure you store at least one smoke detector on every story of your home, and test them often to keep them in working condition.
WHAT TO NOT DO
If there’s an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it can be tempting to put out the fire with water, however water shouldn’t be used to douse an electrical appliance fire.
Water will conduct electricity, and pouring water on a power source could cause a severe electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water might conduct the electricity to other areas of the room, increasing the chance of igniting other flammable objects in the area.
HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE
The immediate step you should do is to unplug the electric device from the power source and call the fire department. Even if you think you can take care of the fire on your own, it is a good idea to have backup if the flames do get out of control.
For smaller fires, you might be able to use baking soda to extinguish the fire. Covering the smoldering or burning spot with baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the flames with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the substance in regulation fire extinguishers. You also could be able to extinguish a smaller fire using a heavy blanket, but only if the fire is small enough not to catch the heavy blanket on fire as well.
For large electrical appliance fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should make sure you have at least one Type C fire extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers should also be inspected regularly to ensure they have not expired. If there is a operational fire extinguisher on hand, just release the pin at the top, point the nozzle at the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the flames get too dangerous to put out by yourself or you are concerned the fire might block an exit, leave the home as fast as possible, close the door , and then wait for help from the local fire department.
For the small appliance fires, call Nashua Appliance Repair once the fire is extinguished and we can diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and restore it to its original condition.
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