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 happens in your house, unplug the appliance immediately and call CRT Appliance Repair for local appliance repair in Middletown. If there’s an electrical fire resulting from one of the large or small appliances inside of your home, we suggest calling the fire department even before attempting to eliminate the fire by yourself.

An electrical fire from an appliance is scary and extremely dangerous, but there are a few ways to be prepared in the event of an emergency. If an appliance is in flames, it is important not to panic. Follow these easy guidelines to keep your home safe from electrical fires.

HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRES

You are able to stop electrical fires before they start by following a couple of simple rules of appliance safety in a home. Do not plug in too many devices into one outlet—the wiring can become overloaded and spark a fire, especially when there’s clutter like paper or clothes nearby the outlet.

Sometimes we forget about the dangers of larger household appliances since they remain plugged in all of the time, but they can present as much of a fire hazard as smaller appliances like kitchen toasters and heaters. Larger appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left running overnight or while you’re away from home, and don’t place a freezer or refrigerator in direct sunlight, to prevent overworking their cooling systems.

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

WHAT NOT TO DO

If there is 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 put out an electrical appliance fire.

Water will conduct electricity, and dumping water on or near a power source might cause a dangerous electrical shock. It might even make the fire stronger. Water could conduct the electricity to other parts of the room, increasing the chance of igniting more flammable objects in the area.

HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The immediate step you want to do is to unplug the electric appliance from the power source and call your local fire department. Even if you think you can handle the fire on your own, it is important to have backup if the flames do get out of control.

For little fires, you may be able to pour on baking soda to extinguish the flames. Covering the smoking or burning area with some baking soda can prohibit oxygen flow to the flames with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda also includes sodium bicarbonate, which is the same chemical used in standard fire extinguishers. You could be able to put out a small fire with a heavy blanket, but only when the fire is small enough to not catch the blanket on fire as well.

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 house. Extinguishers should also be checked regularly to make sure they have not expired. If there’s a operational fire extinguisher on hand, just release the pin near the top, aim the nozzle at the flames, and press the handle. If the fire gets too big to fight by yourself or you think the fire might block an exit, leave the home immediately, shut the door behind you, and then wait for help from the local fire department.

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

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