An appliance repair emergency might be a leak or smoke or even flames coming from the appliance.
If an appliance emergency occurs in your house, unplug the appliance right away and call S.O.S. Santa Barbara Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Santa Barbara. If there is an electrical fire happening with one of the appliances inside of your house, we suggest calling the city fire department even before attempting to eliminate the fire on your own.
An electrical fire from an appliance can be scary and very 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 is important not to panic. Follow these easy guidelines to help keep your home safe from electrical fires.
PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES
You can stop electrical fires before they start by following some basic rules of appliance safety in a home. Do not plug in more than two devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring can get overloaded and then spark a fire, especially when there is clutter like paper or clothes close to the electrical outlet.
It can be easy to forget about the apparent dangers of larger appliances since they are plugged in all of the time, but they present as much chance for a fire hazard as small electrical appliances like toasters and space heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine shouldn’t be left running overnight or while you are away from home, and try not to keep a freezer or refrigerator in line of direct sunlight, to prevent overworking their cooling systems inside.
Inspect all of the outlets on a regular basis for excessive heat, signs of burns, and crackling or buzzing sounds that might indicate electrical arcing. Be sure you store at least one working smoke detector on every floor of your home, and test them quarterly to keep them in working order.
WHAT TO NOT DO
If there is an appliance repair emergency involving an electrical fire, it might be tempting to douse the flames with water, however water shouldn’t be used to put out an electrical appliance fire.
Water will conduct electricity, and pouring water on or near a power source might give a harmful electrical shock. It might even make the fire even worse. Water can conduct electricity to additional parts of the room, running the chance of igniting other flammable items nearby.
HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE
The immediate step you want to do is unplug the electric appliance from the power outlet and call your local fire department. Even if you think you are able to handle the fire on your own, it’s important to have help if the fire does get out of control.
For little fires, you could be able to use baking soda to smother the flames. Covering the smoldering or burning area with baking soda can prevent oxygen flow to the flames with little chance of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance in standard fire extinguishers. You could be able to smother a small fire using a heavy blanket as well, but only if the fire is small enough to not catch the heavy blanket on fire.
For larger electrical 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 inspected regularly to ensure they haven’t expired. If there’s a operational extinguisher in the home, pull the pin near the top, point the hose at the source of the fire, and press the handle. If the flames get too big to put out alone or you are concerned the fire might block an exit, you should leave the home as fast as possible, close the door , and wait for help from the local fire department.
For the small appliance fires, call S.O.S. Santa Barbara Appliance Repair once the flames are under control and we can identify the reason for the fire and repair the electrical appliance and restore it to its original condition.
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