Emergency Appliance Repair

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

If an appliance emergency occurs in your house, unplug the appliance immediately and then call Victory Indio Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Indio. If there is an electrical fire from one of the appliances in your home, we suggest calling the city fire department before you try to put out the fire on your own.

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

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

Homeowners are able to prevent electrical fires from ever starting by following some simple rules of appliance safety in a home. Be sure not to plug too many devices into one outlet—the wiring can become overloaded and then spark a fire, especially if there’s debris like paper or clothes nearby the electrical outlet.

Sometimes we forget about the apparent dangers of large appliances since they stay plugged in all of the time, but they still present as much chance for a fire hazard as small electrical devices like kitchen toasters and heaters. Large appliances like a washing machine or dishwasher shouldn’t be left to run overnight or while you are not at home, and try not to keep a freezer or refrigerator in direct sunlight, in order to prevent overworking the cooling systems.

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

WHAT NOT TO DO

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

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

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate thing you need to do is unplug the appliance from the power source and call your local fire department. Even if you think you are able to take care of the fire yourself, it’s a good idea to have backup if the fire does get out of hand.

For smaller fires, you could be able to use baking soda to douse the flames. Covering the smoldering or burning spot with some baking soda will sometimes prevent oxygen flow to the flames with minimal risk of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance in regulation fire extinguishers. You also might be able to put out a smaller fire using a heavy blanket, but only if the flames are small enough not to catch the blanket on fire too.

For larger electrical appliance fires, you need a Type C fire extinguisher. You should make sure you have at least one Type C fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers need to be checked consistently to ensure they have not expired. If there is a operational extinguisher in the home, release the pin at the top, aim the hose at the source of the flames, and press the handle. If the flames get too big to put out by yourself or you are concerned the fire might block an exit, you should leave the house right away, close the door , and then wait for help from the local fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Victory Indio Appliance Repair once the fire is extinguished and we can diagnose the cause of the fire and repair the electrical appliance and restore it to working order.

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