Emergency Appliance Repair

CALL FOR EMERGENCY APPLIANCE REPAIR
608-352-8807

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

If an appliance emergency occurs in your home, unplug the appliance immediately and then call Capital Appliance Repair for appliance repair in Madison. If there’s an electrical fire involving one of the large or small appliances inside your house, we advise calling the fire department before you try to extinguish the fire on your own.

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

PREVENTING ELECTRICAL FIRES

You are able to prevent electrical fires from ever starting by following a couple of simple guidelines for appliance safety. Be sure not to plug a lot of devices into one electrical outlet—the wiring can get overloaded and spark a fire, especially when there’s debris like paper or clothes near the electrical outlet.

It’s possible to forget about the apparent dangers of larger home appliances since they are plugged in all the time, but they present as much chance for a fire hazard as smaller electrical appliances like toasters and heaters. Large appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine should not be left to run overnight or any time you’re away from home, and do not keep a refrigerator or freezer in direct sunlight, to prevent overworking the cooling systems.

Check all of the outlets regularly for excessive heat, burn marks, and crackling or buzzing sounds that could indicate electrical arcing. Make sure you keep at least one smoke detector on every story of your home, and test them quarterly to keep them in working condition.

WHAT TO NOT DO

If there is an emergency requiring appliance repair such as an electrical fire, it might be tempting to put out the fire with water, however water should not be used to fight an electrical fire.

Water can conduct electricity, and throwing water on a power source can give a harmful electrical shock. It could even make the fire even worse. Water could conduct the electricity to additional areas of the room, increasing the chance of igniting other flammable objects nearby.

HOW TO PUT OUT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE

The first step you want to do is unplug the electric device from the power source and call your fire department. Even if you can handle the fire on your own, it is important to have help if the fire does get out of hand.

For smaller fires, you may be able to pour on baking soda to smother the flames. Covering the smoldering or burning spot with a layer of baking soda will sometimes block oxygen flow to the flames with minimal chance of electrocution. Baking soda also contains sodium bicarbonate, which is the same substance used in standard fire extinguishers. You might be able to smother a small fire with a heavy blanket as well, but only if the flames are small enough not to catch the blanket on fire too.

For large electrical appliance fires, use a Type C fire extinguisher. You should always be sure you have at least one Type C extinguisher in your house. Extinguishers need to be inspected consistently to make sure they aren’t expired. If there is a operational extinguisher in the home, just release the pin at the top, point the hose at the fire, and press the handle. If the flames get too big to fight by yourself or you are concerned the fire may block an exit, you should leave the home immediately, shut the door behind you, and then wait for help from the local fire department.