Emergency Appliance Repair

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 immediately and call EZ Boise Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Boise. If there’s an electrical fire involving one of the appliances inside your house, we recommend calling the town fire department even before attempting to extinguish the fire by yourself.

An electrical fire from an appliance is very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a couple of 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 appliance fires.

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners can stop electrical fires from ever starting by following a few simple guidelines for appliance safety. Don’t plug a lot of devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially when there’s clutter like clothes or paper near the outlet.

Sometimes we forget about the apparent dangers of larger home appliances since they are plugged in all the time, but they present as much of a fire hazard as small electrical devices like kitchen toasters and heaters. Larger appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher should not be left to run overnight or while you are not at home, and don’t place a freezer or refrigerator in direct sunlight, to prevent overworking the cooling systems inside.

Check all outlets on a regular basis for excessive heat, burn marks, and buzzing or crackling noises that could point to electrical arcing. Make sure you have at least one working smoke detector on every story of your home, and test them quarterly to keep them in good working order.

WHAT NOT TO DO

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

Water can conduct electricity, and throwing water on a power source could cause a harmful electrical shock. It could even make the fire worse. Water might conduct the electricity to other locations of the room, running the risk of igniting more flammable items in the area.

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate step you need to do is unplug the electric appliance from the power source and call the fire department. Even if you can put out the fire on your own, it is important to have help if the flames do get out of control.

For little fires, you may be able to pour on baking soda to extinguish the fire. Covering the fuming or burning area with a layer of baking soda can prevent oxygen flow to the flames with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the substance in regulation fire extinguishers. You also could be able to smother a smaller fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only if the fire is small enough to not catch the blanket on fire as well.

For larger electrical appliance fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should be sure you have at least one Type C fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers should also be checked consistently to ensure they have not expired. If there’s a working fire extinguisher on hand, just pull the pin at the top, aim the nozzle at the fire, and press the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to fight by yourself or you think the fire could block an exit, you should leave the house immediately, shut the door , and then wait for help from the fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call EZ Boise Appliance Repair once the fire is extinguished and we will diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to its original condition.

OTHER RESOURCES:

Appliance Repair Cost
Appliance Repair Tips
Appliance Safety
Repair or Replace Appliances
Refrigerator Parts