Homeowners rely on their appliances to help them follow their daily routine of cooking, washing dishes, cleaning clothes, and other essential parts of life. When something isn’t operating the right way, it can be a hassle. Certain appliances may malfunction so severely that it creates an emergency situation. Here are six home appliance emergencies and how to survive them.
An overflowing toilet is a disaster that could potentially cause serious water damage in your home. When a toilet is flushed repeatedly despite being clogged, it could overflow and flood your bathroom. Water has the potential to saturate the floor and drip down through the ceiling below. To prevent this, first, learn how to deal with a clogged toilet. When you’ve got a potential flood about to happen, reach inside the tank and push down the flapper to stop the water. Then, turn off the water supply behind the toilet.
When your refrigerator isn’t working, it can cause serious disruption in your household. Your food may spoil if the refrigerator isn’t cooling properly, making it impossible to keep perishable items in the home. If your fridge is inoperable, your best bet is to call the repair technician to get it properly fixed. In the meantime, set up a cooler with plenty of ice to chill your remaining cold items.
Another emergency that may happen in the winter is when your heat stops working. When your heat shuts off in the middle of a severe cold snap, it may put your household at risk. You can try a few troubleshooting tips to get your furnace to get started again, but if those don’t work, you’ll need to contact a service technician quickly. Depending on the temperature outside, you may be able to load up on blankets and sweaters until the heat is functional again.
A broken air conditioner can make things extremely uncomfortable in the summer. During a serious heat wave, older people and those with breathing problems may be in danger without a functioning air conditioner. The first thing to do is to contact a reputable contractor like King Heating, Cooling, & Plumbing, with 24/7 emergency service on AC repair. Otherwise, you’ll have to put your fans on max and find alternative methods of staying cool.
An emergency that can be potentially deadly is a gas leak. If you suddenly smell the distinct smell of gas in your home, immediately go outside. Call your utility company or the fire department to get someone to check out the source. A gas leak that isn’t fixed could lead to a possible explosion.
Another extremely serious emergency in the home is a carbon monoxide leak. Carbon monoxide is not very easy to identify because it has no smell or color. If you have carbon monoxide detectors, you’ll be able to alert yourself if there is a problem. Evacuate the home right away, and call emergency services to have it checked out.
The potential for a serious problem occurring in your home because of an appliance is high, but you can help yourself by acting quickly. Taking action right away can help you avoid costly damage, injury, or death due to these emergencies.