Emergency Appliance Repair

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

If an appliance emergency arises, unplug the appliance immediately and call St. Petersburg Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in St. Petersburg. If there is an electrical fire involving one of the appliances inside of your home, we advise calling the local fire department before you try to put out the fire by yourself.

An electrical fire can be very scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a few ways to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If one of your appliances is in flames, it’s important to not panic and remain calm. Follow our easy guidelines to keep your home safe from electrical fires.

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

You are able to stop electrical fires from starting by following a couple of simple rules of appliance safety in a home. Don’t plug too many devices into one outlet—the wiring might get overloaded and spark a fire, especially if there’s clutter like clothes or paper close to the electrical outlet.

It can be easy to forget about the apparent dangers of larger appliances because they remain plugged in all the time, but they present as much of a fire hazard as smaller appliances like kitchen toasters and heaters. Larger appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher should not be left running overnight or any time you are not at home, and do not place a refrigerator or freezer in direct sunlight, to prevent overworking their cooling systems.

Inspect all outlets regularly for excessive heat, burns, and buzzing or crackling sounds that might indicate electrical arcing. Be sure you keep at least one smoke detector on every story of your house, and test the smoke detectors regularly to keep them in working order.

WHAT NOT TO DO

If there is an appliance repair emergency such as an electrical fire, it can be tempting to douse the fire with water, however water shouldn’t be used to douse an electrical appliance fire.

Water conducts electricity, and dumping water on or near a power source might cause a severe electrical shock. It could even make the fire worse. Water can conduct electricity to additional locations of the room, running the chance of igniting more flammable objects nearby.

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The first thing you need to do is unplug the appliance from the power outlet and call the fire department. Even if you can put out the fire by yourself, it is a good idea to have backup if the fire does get out of hand.

For little fires, you could be able to pour on baking soda to smother the flames. Covering the smoking or burning area with some baking soda can prevent oxygen flow to the fire with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance in standard fire extinguishers. You also could be able to smother a smaller fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only when the flames are small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire.

For big electrical fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should be sure you own at least one Type C fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers should also be checked often to ensure they haven’t expired. If there is a working extinguisher in the home, just release the pin near the top, point the nozzle at the source of the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the flames get too big to fight alone or you think the fire could block an exit, leave the house as fast as possible, shut the door , and then wait for help from the fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call St. Petersburg Appliance Repair once the flames are extinguished and we will diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to working order.

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