Emergency Appliance Repair

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

In the event of an appliance emergency, unplug the appliance right away and call Metro Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Silver Spring. If there is an electrical fire from one of the large or small appliances in your home, we recommend calling the fire department before attempting to eliminate the fire yourself.

An electrical fire is very scary and very dangerous, but there are a couple of steps to be prepared in case of an emergency. If an electrical appliance is in flames, it is important to not panic. Follow these easy guidelines below to keep your house safe from electrical appliance fires.

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

You are able to prevent electrical fires before they start by following a few simple guidelines for appliance safety. Do not plug too many devices into a single outlet—the wiring can become overloaded and then spark a fire, especially when there’s clutter like clothes or paper close to the electrical outlet.

Sometimes we forget about the apparent dangers of larger residential appliances since they remain plugged in all of the time, but they can present as much chance for a fire hazard as small devices like toasters and space heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left running overnight or while you’re away from home, and try not to place a refrigerator or freezer in line of direct sunlight, to prevent overworking their cooling systems inside.

Inspect all outlets on a regular basis for excessive heat, burn marks, and buzzing or crackling sounds that might point to electrical arcing. Be sure you have at least one working smoke detector on every floor of your home, and test them quarterly to keep them in good working condition.

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 can conduct electricity, and dumping water on or near a power source can give a severe electrical shock. It could even make the fire stronger. Water might conduct the electricity to additional areas of the room, running the chance of igniting more flammable items nearby.

HOW TO EXTINGUISH AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate thing you should do is to unplug the electric device from the power outlet and call your fire department. Even if you might be able to handle the fire on your own, it is a good idea to have backup if the fire does get out of hand.

For little fires, you may be able to pour on baking soda to extinguish the flames. Covering the smoking or burning spot with a layer of baking soda can prohibit oxygen flow to the flames with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the substance used in regulation fire extinguishers. You also could be able to put out a smaller fire with a heavy blanket, but only if the flames are small enough to not catch the blanket on fire.

For large electrical appliance fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always make sure you have at least one Type C or multi-use fire extinguisher in your home. Extinguishers should also be checked regularly to be sure they aren’t expired. If there’s a working fire extinguisher on hand, just release the pin near the top, point the nozzle at the flames, and squeeze the handle. If the flames get too dangerous to fight by yourself or you think the fire may block an exit, leave the home immediately, shut the door behind you, and wait for help from the local fire department.

For the smaller appliance fires, call Metro Appliance Repair once the fire is extinguished and we can identify the reason for the fire and repair the electrical appliance and return it to its original condition.

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