Emergency Appliance Repair

An appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even a fire coming from the appliance.

In the event of an appliance emergency, unplug the appliance immediately and call Triumph Appliance Repair of Troy for local appliance repair in Troy. If there’s an electrical fire involving one of the appliances in your home, we advise calling the town fire department before you try to extinguish the fire by yourself.

An electrical fire from an appliance can be very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a few steps to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If an appliance is in flames, it’s important not to panic. Follow our simple guidelines to keep your house safe from electrical fires.

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

You are able to stop electrical fires from ever starting by following some basic guidelines for appliance safety. Be careful not to plug a lot of devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring can become overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there’s debris like paper or clothes close to the outlet.

It is possible to forget about the dangers of large residential appliances because they are plugged in all of the time, but they still present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller electrical devices like kitchen toasters and heaters. Larger appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher shouldn’t be left running overnight or any time you are away from home, and do not keep a freezer or refrigerator in line of direct sunlight, in order to prevent overworking their cooling systems.

Inspect all of the outlets regularly for extreme heat, signs of burns, and buzzing or crackling noises that could indicate electrical arcing. Make sure you keep at least one smoke detector on every story of your house, and test them often to keep them in working condition.

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 fire.

Water will conduct electricity, and throwing water on or near a power source might cause a harmful electrical shock. It might even make the fire even worse. Water might conduct electricity to additional parts of the room, running the chance of igniting other flammable objects in the room.

HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The first thing you should do is unplug the appliance from the power outlet and call the fire department. Even if you think you can put out the fire yourself, it is important to have backup if the flames do get out of hand.

For small fires, you might be able to pour on baking soda to smother the fire. Covering the smoldering or burning area with baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the fire with little chance of electrocution. Baking soda also includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance used in standard fire extinguishers. You may be able to put out a small fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only if the flames are small enough not to catch the blanket on fire too.

For big electrical fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should make sure you own at least one Type C fire extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers should also be checked regularly to ensure they haven’t expired. If you have a operational extinguisher on hand, release the pin at the top, point the hose at the source of the fire, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to fight alone or you think the fire could block an exit, you should leave the house immediately, close the door , and then wait for help from the fire department.

For the small appliance fires, call Triumph Appliance Repair of Troy once the fire is extinguished and we will diagnose the reason for the fire and repair the appliance and restore it to working order.

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Appliance Repair Cost
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Appliance Safety
Repair or Replace Appliances
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