Emergency Appliance Repair

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

If an appliance emergency arises in your home, unplug the appliance immediately and then call G&C Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Encino. Service information available.

If there’s an electrical fire resulting from one of the large or small appliances inside your house, we recommend calling the town fire department before you try to extinguish the fire on your own.

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

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

You are able to prevent electrical fires before they start by following a few simple rules of appliance safety. Be sure not to plug in a lot of devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring can become overloaded and then spark a fire, especially when there is clutter like clothes or paper near the electrical outlet.

Sometimes we forget about the apparent dangers of larger home appliances because they remain plugged in all of the time, but they present as much chance for a fire hazard as small appliances like toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher should not be left running overnight or any time you are away from home, and do not keep a freezer or refrigerator in direct sunlight, to prevent possibly overworking the cooling systems inside.

Check all of the outlets regularly for extreme heat, signs of burns, and crackling or buzzing sounds that might point to electrical arcing. Make sure you store at least one smoke detector on every story of your house, and test them regularly to keep them in working condition.

WHAT TO NOT DO

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

Water will conduct electricity, and throwing water on a power source might give a harmful electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water could conduct the electricity to additional locations of the room, running the chance of igniting other flammable objects in the area.

HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The first step you should do is unplug the electric device from the power source and call the local fire department. Even if you might be able to put out the fire on your own, it is a good idea to have help if the flames do get out of hand.

For small fires, you might 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 fire with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda also includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance used in standard fire extinguishers. You could be able to extinguish a small fire using a heavy blanket, but only when the fire is small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire too.

For big electrical appliance fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you own at least one Type C or multi-use fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers need to be inspected often 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 fire, and squeeze the handle. If the fire gets too dangerous to put out by yourself or you think the fire might block an exit, leave the house immediately, shut the door behind you, and then wait for assistance from the fire department.

For the small appliance fires, call G&C Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we can diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to working order for an affordable price for homeowners.

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Appliance Safety
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