Emergency Appliance Repair

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

If an appliance emergency happens in your house, unplug the appliance right away and call Wells Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Fremont. If there is an electrical fire resulting from one of the appliances inside your home, we recommend calling the local fire department before attempting to extinguish the fire yourself.

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

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners are able to prevent electrical fires from starting by following some basic guidelines for appliance safety. Be careful not to plug more than two electrical devices into a single electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially when there is clutter like clothes or paper close to the outlet.

It is possible to forget about the dangers of large appliances since they are plugged in all of the time, but they present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller electrical appliances like kitchen toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher should not be left to run overnight or while you’re away from home, and try not to place a freezer or refrigerator in line of direct sunlight, to prevent overworking their cooling systems.

Inspect all of the outlets on a regular basis for extreme heat, signs of burns, and crackling or buzzing noises that might point to electrical arcing. Make sure you store at least one smoke detector on every story of your home, and test the smoke detectors quarterly to keep them in good 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 flames with water, however water should not be used on an electrical appliance fire.

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

HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate thing you need to do is to unplug the device from the power outlet and call your local fire department. Even if you think you can put out the fire on your own, it’s a good idea to have help if the flames do get out of hand.

For smaller fires, you could be able to use baking soda to smother the flames. Covering the smoldering or burning spot with some baking soda can block oxygen flow to the fire with very little risk of electrocution. Baking soda also includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the substance used in regulation fire extinguishers. You may be able to extinguish a smaller fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only if the flames are small enough to not catch the blanket on fire too.

For big electrical appliance fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should be sure you own at least one Type C fire extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be checked regularly to ensure they aren’t expired. If there’s a working extinguisher in the home, just pull the pin at the top, aim the hose at the source of the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to fight alone or you think the fire could block an exit, leave the house as fast as possible, close the door behind you, and wait for assistance from the fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Wells Appliance Repair once the flames are extinguished and we can identify the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and restore it to its original condition.

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Appliance Safety
Repair or Replace Appliances
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